But A Fleeting Illness
by B. Shenanigans
Summary: Serenity is the perfect girlfriend with the sneaky, conniving liar that is Marik. If she could look back in the past, she could see who truly needs her. Who truly loves her. But can she push past the smokescreen to see the cold blue eyes behind it? DONE.
1. Woe

**Woe**

Serenity packed away the rest of the food in Tupperware containers. She had dressed down into a red tee shirt and a black pair of silk boxers. The phone was to her ear, talking to her brother's girlfriend. "And there goes the cheesecake." she sighed, hopping on her kitchen counter. It was a fairly small kitchen but Serenity absolutely loved it. The area had been freshly redone for Serenity's birthday, where he had also been absent. For some reason, the wooden cabinets, yellow linoleum floor and red plaster walls couldn't make up for an absentee boyfriend. She had wondered what he was going to do this time. She picked up her cell phone, hoping the screen would have foretold a missed call, a forgotten voicemail or a unread text. Nothing of the sort was there. She heaved a heavy sigh. "Guess I should have expected this. Not the first time he flaked on an anniversary. You think after two years I'd get used to it but..I don't know. Maybe its my fault for planning this huge dinner and him having a work weary job."

"_Oh, Serenity. I'm sorry._" Mai sympathized. "_That's something you should never get used to. And it's not your fault, darling. You just tried to do something sweet and he just had to work late. Just go to bed and you'll see him in the morning._"

"I don't wanna sleep. It is our two year. I kinda wanna see him and the other half of me just wants to bash his head in." Serenity groaned. She took a strand of hair and twirled it with her slim finger. "Or not. I'm not sure anymore. Mai, I'm sorry I called you. It's nearly midnight and you and Joe are probably doing something tonight. Even though I'm not."

"_Oh, your dolt brother is asleep._" Mai giggled. "_He said he's been working extra hard lately for our wedding._" Serenity could feel Mai light up through the the phone. She was pretty sure if she had hung up the phone, she'd be to distracted by the ring to care. They had been engaged for two months and she was so excited for them. The glimmer of the ring never ceased to amaze her. It was their grandmother's ring and Mai looked beautiful with it on.

Suddenly, she could hear the front door open. She could only pray that Marik would not find her but the opening provided by the bar betrayed her. He was dressed in Serenity's favorite suit with a pale purple shirt underneath the opened jacket. In one hand, he held pink roses and in the other he held a small present wrapped in a shiny blue wrapping paper and a tight red bow. She nearly broke her neck on how quick she looked away from him. She knew if she looked into those eyes, her resilience would only last so long. After placing the items on the counter, he went around to the swinging door and entered the kitchen with Serenity. He grabbed the phone from her hand, leaving her mouth agape.

"I'm sorry Mai but she'll call you back." He ended the call which made her give a pout. In a swift movement, he reached for the gift and also met her pouted lips with his own. Serenity began to hate herself on how quickly she gave in. He broke the kiss, leaving her yearning for more. She kissed him again, taking in the scent of his cologne. He broke the kiss and grinned at her. Marik softly kissed her forehead as he placed her hands on the neatly packaged gift. She looked up at him, his purple eyes making her knees weak. She cursed herself underneath her breath because it had the exact effect she'd imagined. She'd even felt guilty for being angry. She gently tugged at the ribbon, letting it fall to the ground. Next came slowly dismantling the paper which she had discovered where adorned with silhouettes of tiny bunnies with umbrellas. She couldn't help but smile. When it was gone, she was left with a small white box, covered in cursive letters, seemingly hand written with a marker. She carefully opened the box to see a bunch of packaging peanuts. Pushing past them, she came to a small black box. The breath had escaped her body. She was frozen. She took it out and handled it as if it was glass. She put the white box to her side and held the velvet case in her hand and flicked it open. It was what she though. A brilliant ring, easily twelve carats. The sterling silver band complimented the shining gemstone. It formed the shape of a pentagon. Just like she had imagined.

"Marik.." she breathed out and turned to look at him, only to find on the ground, bended on one knee. She held one hand over her heart, checking if it had stopped. Serenity found it hadn't but was racing incredibly fast. He took the box from her and held it up to her, the shine it let off nearly blinding her. She couldn't believe what was happening.

"Serenity, you have my heart. You stole it the moment I saw you. I can't help but want to be with you every moment of my life, though sometimes things get in the way." Marik confessed. Both hands were to her face now, hyperventilating. "I curse those things everyday. The obstacles that keep me away from you. And when I'm away from you, I can only think about you and it drives me crazy. And today, I was thinking of how insane you make me feel and realized I need to be with you for the rest of my life. I know I'm a late idiot who comes home late and is insufferably late, but I was wondering if you could be this insufferable idiot's wife." Tears were streaming from her face. She tried to answer but her lack of breath didn't allow it. "Wow you gonna leave me hanging, Serenity?"

She nodded profusely as he stood up, a face of joy. "Yes." she choked out, moving her hands to reveal her tear stained face. "Yes, yes! I couldn't say anything else!" He met her lips with intensity, motivated by her answer. She wrapped her legs around her waist, bringing him closer to her she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her right hand tugged at his tie. As their tongue's wrestled, he dove into his pocket and felt the condom wrapper her had torn open with his teeth mere hours ago and pulled out a new one to use on his fiancé.

(:::)

"So when will I see you again?" the girl had asked in her thick British accent, climbing on top of the man and hovered over his face. She was wearing a loose black skirt and a pink form fitting bra. She brought her lips to his ear. "We can have a go right now. I'm not wearing any panties." He had to admit, she was beautiful. His hands rested on her hips. Her long black hair had curled around her face in the most attractive way. Her gray eyes were full of mystery and wonder that in a way intrigued him. She was intelligent, wasn't bad to look at and was absolutely amazing in bed. But every time he was with her, or any woman, he was left unsatisfied. But she was the closest.

He swiftly grabbed her leg and rolled on top of her, tempted by her offer. Today was one of celebration, he justified in his mind. Then he scoffed at himself, knowing that was only wishful thinking. It was the day he dreaded every year. The day that had made his heart grow cold. It wasn't any celebration. It was a day of depression. "After all this time, Lila, I thought you knew how I liked it." he responded, attacking her lips fueled by his rage at the world. There was no love for the woman underneath him. He was driven by the need to release his anger and besides the typical boorish way of boozing and smoking, he used a string of women. And no one could beat this girl.

"Well sorry. I should have known that the famous and powerful Seto Kaiba liked being on top. My mistake." She looked up at his cold eyes lustfully. She leaned up slowly and pressed her forehead. He remained expressionless. "I was kinda hoping you'd punish me." She smirked and went to kiss him again. Just as her lips touched, Seto's cell phone vibrated against the nightstand. She laid back on the bed. Seto climbed off of her and sat at the edge of the bed. "Phooey." She rolled her eyes as he answered the call.

"Hello?" he said angrily as Lila wrapped herself around his nude body, stroking every part of his body with her slender fingers.

"_It's that day again so I can only assume you're holed up at some luxurious hotel with some girl._" Mokuba said smugly on the other end. "_Seto, I'm your brother. This biological fact means I have to care about you. I know this it the way you've decided to ride your road of degradation, but can't you cope with your depression in a more healthy ways then screwing random chicks in the Marriott._"

"Four Seasons, actually." Kaiba corrected, Lila kissing his abdomen tenderly with her full red lips. "You're getting worse and worse each day. I miss the days when you were sucking on Tonka Trucks. Any particular reason you're calling me, I do have matters to attend to." Lila snaked her way to Seto's lips and gave him a soft kiss and mouthed, 'Yes you do'.

"_Just letting you know we've been beckoned to the Devlin household for Mai and Joey's surprise engagement party tomorrow. We are friends to the soon to be married couple._" Kaiba groaned at the thought as Lila continued to grace his body with kisses. "_And maybe you can bring Ms. Nameless with you. That'd be flattering._"

"For some reason I find myself in no mood for your sarcasm." Lila had found herself straddling him and caressing his slender neck. Her fingers trailed along his sides playfully, trying to get him off of the phone. "If you remember correctly, I don't really like to be called today. It's not really a date I feel like sharing with anyone I particularly care about. I'll go to the Wheeler-Valentine celebration tomorrow but today Mokuba? I'd rather mourn in my own way." Soon a scowl came to her face. Seto Kaiba could only shrug. Appalled, the back of her hand met Kaiba's mouth. He could only grin. That was probably the only thing that made him feel the most lively the entire night.

_With my sock open socket of a mouth for them to see. They all just laughed and said "That boy, that boy's got woe..."_

_

* * *

_

_A/N: _Recognize this storyline? This story was formerly 'I Should Have Cheated' but I decided to rearrange things a little. And if you're wondering what the titles and the italics at the end, it is the name of a Say Anything song and the italics are a line from that song. I love the band and I will choose the song that best suits the chapter. I'll be editing when editing is due. I love reviews and messages.

EDIT (5/9/10): All my dividers in my chapters have disappeared. WTF??


	2. I Used To Have A Heart

**I Used To Have A Heart**

Serenity fixed Marik's tie outside of the car. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie. Serenity was wearing a black jeans and a tight dark red halter. While Serenity's hair was in a neat high ponytail, Marik's was in its typical disheveled state. "You know with you wearing that top I'm tempted to roll in the old back seat here and-" Marik was cut off by Serenity's finger on his lips with a frown on hers, indicating that her answer was no. He shrugged and said that he tried under his breath. They stood outside the extraordinary Devlin household. It wasn't quite a mansion but Serenity always thought it was too extravagant to call a simple house. It was a brick spectacle with a lavish backyard with patio, swimming pool and a garden to be the envy of any other. Telling by the cars joined by theirs, many people had beaten them there. As she finished, he grabbed her wrist and smiled at her. "It looks even lovelier on you than it did in the store." Marik grinned as Serenity wrapped her arms around him happily, steadily rocking back and forth. "So you're gonna take me up on my offer?" Serenity took her arms back and slapped him playfully, walking up the elegant cobblestone walkway that led her to the backyard. Marik soon ran behind her.

(:::)

Seto sat inside the house, downing scotch. The other guests were on the patio under an umbrella, watching as Mai showed her ring to anyone who would look. Joey had his arm around her proud of the one he had fallen in love with. The bartender kept refilling his glass reluctantly. Lila was next to him drinking as well. Seto had brought her with remorse. She was wearing a white top with her pink bra very visible and the same black skirt from the debauchery of last night. Even Mai was forced to hit a staring Joey. Seto was wearing all black, suiting his depressed state from the day before. From inside, he could hear the muffled cheers. Curious, he turned around. The same moment he wished he didn't. There she was, more stunning than ever before with him on her arm. His heart seemed to simply stop. Lila noticed his discomfort. She smirked at him. "So that's the girl you've been running to in your dreams." she concluded, turning as well. Seto didn't say anything, turning towards the bar. Yes, he had shared some choice things with her but she was a girl he could pay to be quiet if need be. "Well, ain't she pretty. One thing you may know or not Kaiba, I'm batting both sides of the field and I'd love to find her budgie's tongue. But the guys she's with could looks a bit fa-"

"Could you just shut up for one second?" Seto growled, taking another drink. He normally avoided drinking so heavily but the woman next to him had pushed him into a binge. Lila shot him a glare and scoffed, her face returning to its typical smirk.

"You're a meanie today. If you'd listen to me you would notice that I'm actually very insightful." she said with a grin. She gave him a small nudge. "Fine. I'll just greet myself to the couple." Lila moved gracefully from the stool to the patio door before Seto could react. His eyes widened for a moment but then retracted to there typical coldness. Why did it matter anymore, he thought to himself. Hope was lost. His mind drifted off to three years prior where he was actually a smiling man. How hard he had fallen, drinking another person's cheap liquor. Soon another person accompanied him in sea of self wallow.

"When I said bring Ms. Nameless, I was being genuinely sarcastic." Mokuba explained, drinking his water peacefully. Seto shot him a glare that seemingly could shred him to pieces. "Guess that's what I get though. She's not bad company it seems. She is beautiful." Mokuba had turned towards the patio. Seto turned with his brother, observing the crowd with him.

"Yeah." Seto said, barely above a whisper. His eyes never left his love lost. It killed him slowly, seeing another arm around her waist. Even worse when a kiss was placed on places once exclusive to him. His mind drifted to their most intimate moments together, simply holding each other. Lila had sought out Marik and Serenity, striking a conversation. Seto winced at the disruption of his perfect image. Mokuba nudged the older Kaiba, fully awakening him from his imagination.

"I wasn't talking about Nameless." Mokuba smirked. Seto shook his head and turned back around towards the bar.

(:::)

"'Of course I haven't fainted,' said the confessor. 'I'm waitin' for you to stop talkin' politics and commence confessin' your sins!'" Lila bellowed the punchline as everyone began to laugh, even Mai. She had moved on from Joey's wandering eyes and befriended the UK girl. "You know, I'm glad I came with old freezer britches in there. When you get invited to a party by the famous Seto Kaiba, you have to attend."

Serenity nearly choked. Kaiba and her haven't been to the same party since they were together. The joy and merrymaking of her friends seemed to occur in slow motion as she caught a glimpse of the eyes that were once so vibrant with love were so cold. It nearly made her blood freeze. She reviewed the outline of the familiar body, taking it in as if it was the very first time. The trim of hair, the delicate build. Things she had almost forgotten. Three long years of slowly recovering, avoiding each other and forcing themselves to move on, their they were within ten feet of each other. The closest she had been to Kaiba was magazines in the dentist's office. But now? Her heart had nearly ruptured. Mai's eagle eyes noticed what was happening to her friend. She rushed to her side and gave a smile. "Come on, darling. Let's go to the bathroom and primp." Mai suggested, wrapping her arms around her friend. Lila gasped and crashed into Mai.

"I wanna freshen up a bit too!" she exclaimed. Mai laughed, putting her arm around her as well. The three girls rushed in the house, swiftly past Seto who was drinking himself into a stupor. Serenity used every force in her body not to turn back and look for a moment. She knows it would have hurt too much to handle.

(:::)

Serenity had left the two girls in the bathroom when she completed her makeup. She hadn't done much but it was enough to count. She decided to let her hair down and let it swing by her waist. She was walking down the spiral staircase as Seto sat on a beige couch. Seto had moved to the living room, away from the laughter. Mokuba had thought it best to leave his brother alone for a little while. Kaiba had stopped drinking the scotch and retained no virtual effect from it. All the years and he felt numb to it. But what he wasn't numb to was her. He tried to move but he couldn't. It was the first time in years he was genuinely and unshakably stunned. Once she reached the bottom, he once again tried to move but he was caught in Serenity's eye line. She gave a weak smile and sauntered over to him, as was her way. He soon found her right next to him, sitting beside him. An awkward silence ensued. When he finally he found the strength to move, she found the strength to talk. "So how have you been?" It was if he tethered back down to the couch.

"Fine." He mumbled the generic answer. He didn't want her to know the suffering he had experienced just the previous night. "Getting married, huh?" Serenity put a hand over her engagement ring. She was taken aback by her own action, moving her hand back.

"Yeah. Just got asked last night." she said hesitantly. Kaiba gave a congratulatory nod and didn't question her hesitance. Serenity put her hands over her face and took in a deep breath, as if taking it in for the first time. "Wow, I can't believe it, I'm getting married.. to Marik. I mean, God! Mai said there was a shaky feeling for a little while but I haven't stopped since I actually said.." She had fully realized how much that meant until that very moment. Her eyes were widened with shock more than excitement. Her arms fell lazily to her side. She looked to her right to see Seto with a cocked eyebrow. She smiled and gave him a small shove. "Don't give me that look." Seto let out a chuckle, the first real one in years. It was just like Serenity, trying to pick up where things left off.

"You're past the point of no return now, Serenity." Seto sighed. "You're cannonballing into the plunge fifty miles per hour." Serenity curled up into a ball and rested on his lap, perhaps something he wasn't ready for. His heart seemed to stop for a moment but soon resumed.

It was silent for a few moments as she just sat there, nuzzling her face into his leg. "I wanna hang out again. I miss you." she murmured, encircling his waist and moving her head to his stomach. Feelings pent up for three years being gradually released. "I mean, we completely excommunicated each other from our lives and I hate that. Can't we be friends again? Like the beginning."

"What else could I have possibly done in a hospital bed?" Seto said with more acid then he meant it to. She squeezed harder as her hair had fallen at his feet. Two years they had avoided each other. Why had she picked now to approach him? He wasn't ready. He moved her hair out of her face and looked at her face. Her eyes were tightly shut and her lips quivering and her button nose was caught in between them. One of the pieces of his broken heart seemed to break down into microscopic size. "I like your hair better that way. Down, I mean."

She turned her head to him, her lips forming a smile. She sat up and hugged him tightly. He slowly wrapped her arms around her body as she rested her chin on his shoulder. The last time he was holding her like was in a time of grief. He still felt a twinge sorrow has in breathed in her scent, familiar to her nostrils. "I know." she breathed out in a relieved sigh. She brought her face to his, foreheads against each other. Seto wasn't the only one thinking of the past. She remembered the crook of his neck and the way she used to always find comfort in it.

Serenity looked into Seto's eyes as if for the first time. _Love will make you forget time, and time will make you forget love_. A phrase that made her way into her head. One that she could barely remember before but she couldn't shake from her head. Things were rushing through her mind. Smells. The smell of apricots and tulips. Of a slowly burning candle. Of antiseptic. Touch. The feel of grass between her fingers. Of water between her toes. Of cold metal in her hand. Soon her right leg swung over his lap. She had a smirk on her lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was genuinely confused. "Remember the last time we sat like this. On the path in the woods." Serenity said with a glint in her eye. He remembered the woods and that glint. He immediately knew she was up to no good. Before he could say anything, he was attacked by her tickling hands aiming for his sides. He writhed in laughter as she went to his vulnerable back.

Seto retaliated, going for her always sensitive thighs. Serenity tried to fight him off but resistance was futile. His weapons were stronger than hers. She arched her back in laughter and fell to the left side of her rival. Shuffling away from his hands, prepared to launch from the arm rest. Knowing her strategy, he began to back up to the opposite end but it was too late. Serenity leaped onto him, locking him in her arms putting his weapons to safety mode. He was laughing out loud, trying to shake her off of him but it didn't seem to work. He was happy for once. But even as Serenity was pressed against him, she felt more distant than ever. He could feel the ring prod his back. Seto had officially decided not to care right now. He deserved to be happy in the arms in the girl that loved him once.

Mai, a distressed look on her face, had began to walk downstairs. Juggling between the two pieces of news she was just told, it was nearly refreshing to hear Serenity's laughter. Curiosity struck her strong, seeing as she's never heard her sound that joyful, not even while with her or Marik. She went back up and peaked over the railing. Her voice was caught in her throat. Her distress melted into a little smile. After the storm lasting two long years, the sun decided to shine through for the two. Mai felt a pang in her heart, feeling eyes on her that seemed to diminish her good mood. She looked in the direction of the glare and saw angry violet eyes looking dead at her. To the untrained eye, they were simply friends in each others embrace, enjoying themselves. But the tanned figure in the doorway saw the situation in another light; a threat.

_All I want to do is be mended by you. I don't want to be confused, I just want to find you._

**A/N: So it's been like forever since I made a post. I's in school..le grr. So my updates will be like farther apart. But there is hope! I am putting final tweaks on the third installment. So it should be a little quicker. **


	3. Skinny, Mean Man

**Skinny, Mean Man**

Mokuba was drowning in a sea of shopping bags while navigating through the parking garage. His legs quivered underneath the newly purchased items. He had ones under his arms, hanging from his arms, holding them in his hands and an abnormally large one tittering on his left shoulder. The only thing anyone from a distance could see was a lone eye crying out for help since his mouth was covered by a bag full of shoes. "Chin up, Tiny Kaiba! You act like I'm making you run a bloody mile." a shrill voice said tartly. While Mokuba groaned and struggled to walk, Lila skipped happily beside him with only one petite jewelry bag. Since she had shown no signs of leaving the Kaiba's alone, Mokuba's vouch to let her stay and Seto's growing impatience, he gave her a credit card and a supervisor. He felt that it was only fair to have the man who defended her so was also the one to act as her babysitter. _I was an all star in college. I was a valedictorian. I own part of a large company. But, not a place in my resume does it say I am qualified to be this woman's servant boy! _He screamed within the confines of his own mind. He drifted to the left, narrowly avoiding death by Hummer. _ And what the hell is this? I'm pretty sure that blue pump is about to slip and kick me in the face. If I didn't say anything, she'd be on the next flight to England. When I said, 'Let's keep her around', I did not mean she was MY RESPONSIBILITY! Looking at her, sure but being her guardian? Seto, you owe me BIG for this! _ She was wearing a yellow sundress with white polka dots and her hair was in a high ponytail. Her white boots clicked against the ground. Under the cover of bags, he gave a goofy smile. He began to lean more than he previously. No matter how much pain she had put him through, Mokuba couldn't help but enjoy her skip. Her sunkissed legs, her carefree arms, her fit and firm..

He found himself running into the back of the car, every leaning box and bag pouring into the trunk of Lila's Jeep and a tire in his stomach. "My bad, Momoko. Maybe I should have told you where you were going, mate." Lila said feigning sympathy, patting him on the back. He breathed heavily as he dropped the rest of the bags into the car. He had despised the pet name she had selected for him. She jumped over the broken car door shamelessly. She got disapproving looks from elderly women and angry girlfriends. She let her hair fall on her shoulders and the glint in her eye was different than before. Securing the last bag, Mokuba leaned on the tire which just injured him. Suddenly he found himself on the concrete in even more pain. Lila had pulled away ever so slightly to make the raven haired boy wail in pain. "Oh Momoko! Don't be such a nancy boy!" She looked in the rear view mirror and saw him lift himself up. He held up his hand and gave an a weak okay while limping towards the passenger side. "That's what you get for staring at me arse, little perv." Lila muttered to herself as she reapplied her red lipstick. She put on her aviator glasses with a smirk. As he slid into the car with a horrid look on his face, the roar of the engine echoed throughout the entire garage and in mere seconds.

The jeep stormed down the street making it even more uncomfortable for Mokuba, who was rattling under the seatbelt. He was to the point where he was nauseous. Lila's hair whipped violently in the wind. "Why do you drive this car so roughly!" he screeched as his head nearly suffered decapitation by whiplash. "I mean I know the roadrunner has to brake once in a while, woman!" The car halted at a light where Lila took the opportunity to take off her glasses and stare into Mokuba's eyes, an ever deadly glare which silenced him.

"You do NOT talk while I'm driving unless you are spoken to! Got it, you little prat!" He nodded his head just after his heart had resumed beating. She leaned back into her seat and put her glasses back on. A smirk had appeared on her face. "Driving in this very Jeep is like having sex to me." Mokuba's eyes lit up with sudden interest. "Roofs are for pansies when it's all nice like this. That's why mine is always down. Sure I bring it up when it starts to pour, I'm not an idiot wanker. Why would I hide? I'm completely shameless, everyone knows that. The sun on my face. The wheel under my palms and the roar of the engine under my entire body, telling me to go faster. The way it rattles is its way for yearning for a response, you know. I can't be rude and not answer. And I always give it a proper answer." She then looked at him with a smile, strongly contrasting the demonic look she had bore but a few moments prior. Her hand slithered over to the passenger side. Mokuba's heart once again stopped as her hand touched his knee. She chuckled as she slowly moved her hand upward. Mokuba was breathing heavily, not knowing what to do. He licked his lips as she got ever so close to where he had dreamed of her being ever since she walked into his life. Suddenly the buzzer indicating the light change had sounded. Lila's hands were once again on the wheel and Mokuba was looking for his jaw which had dropped to the floor. "Both hands on the wheel, Momoko. Follow the rules."

"Maybe next time _I_ can drive?" he said hopefully. Lila simply scoffed.

"Never."

(:::)

Mai was frantic. She paced back and forth in her living room, ranting and primping simultaneously. Her face was an interesting mixture of disdain, cowardice, anger and intrigue. "How **dare** they call me out of the blue! It's not fair!" she shouted, making Serenity jump. Serenity had been there for three and a half hours helping her get ready but it was a job undone when it came to her nerves. She hadn't even been able to prepare herself because she was trying to calm Mai down. Her hair was in a messy bun, her curls a mess. "I bust my ass to leave them be for years and they call, ask how I'm doing and **BAM!** I found out they are throwing me a party in less than twenty-four hours. I didn't need a party two months ago, daddy dearest! I didn't need you then and I sure as hell didn't need you now." Serenity stood up and stopped Mai from running herself into the ground. Serenity had opened her mouth to talk but had said nothing. As much as she wanted to assist her friend, her mind was far off, thinking of Marik, Kaiba and her own engagement. She was lost, confused and oddly guilty. No matter how she looked at it, she felt like she cheated on Marik and she felt like he could sense it. But no matter what was happening, she wanted to talk to Kaiba. She kept wondering if it was right or wrong but she wanted to. Her mind kept pondering those thing but not what was most important at the very second; Mai. Luckily for her, Joey walked in and saw his fiance in a state of panic and he took over. He sat down the suit he had just picked up and grabbed his fiance by the shoulders and sat her down.

"Hey, can ya give us a minute, Serenity?" Joey said uneasily. Serenity couldn't help but stare at them for a moment. Joey was squatting in front of Mai, holding her hands in his, so much concern coming from him. Her eyes were watering but Joey didn't let one tear drop as if he was wiping her sadness away. Serenity smiled. Love. Pure love. _Do people look at me and Marik like that? I mean this moment, it's golden. And I can feel it in my toes. Do they feel our love for each other like I can feel theirs? _Serenity asked herself. Suddenly her heart ached. It lurched in a way that she just wanted to vomit. _Do I feel it? _Snapping back to reality, she quickly nodded and retreated to their bedroom. It was perfect timing. Though Joey had not known it, he gave Serenity not only the push but the time to herself required for her next move. It was the couple of seconds she needed to make one simple phone call.

(:::)

Mai watched Serenity step into Marik's car from her apartment's window. She was wearing a white cocktail dress with a bright red bow covering her torso. The pleated bottom hung gracefully from her hips, soft and floaty. His silver convertible gleamed in the apartment complex parking lot, causing the children to circle around the automobile in awe. Marik smiled and wrapped his arm around his fiancé and talked calmly to the neighborhood kids. She crossed her arms over her chest, a stern look etched into her face. All the other emotions she had felt had fallen to the wayside. The only thing left was anger. The way he sat in his flashy white Armani suit annoyed her. His diamonds, his smile and those devious eyes. All things she could do without. Things _Serenity _could do without. There was so much Serenity needed to know. So much she wanted to tell her but the repercussions..what would those be? If Mai could spit in his overpriced vehicle from where she was, she'd do it in front of the kids, the president, even God. She glared at him, watching him whip his hair back acting as if he was one of the models he employed. Serenity's meek smile brought a pang of sadness to Mai's heart. It was nothing like the grin she bore a mere few days ago in the arms of Kaiba. Mai hated Marik as much as Joey did but she hid her disdain better than he did, no matter what was in the history they shared. She scoffed at the thought of their past, walking away from the window. She angrily sat on the couch, her arms tight enough across her stomach to give herself the Heimlich. But as the engine came to life, Lila's words rang through her head. The tiniest shiver trailed down her spine. Mai went to the window again, the urge to yell the truth to Serenity.

She jumped under the arm around her waist. She looked up to see Joey. He was wearing his purple boxers and white dress shirt which was half buttoned and his black tie in hand. His boyish face held a confused look and even concern for his future wife. "Parents got ya worried?" he asked, bringing her closer to the him. Her head rested on his chest. She was quickly soothed after listening to his steady heartbeat. She nodded, partially in truth. Mai's uptight father and drunken mother had also troubled her thoughts, among other things. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. He held her at arms length, taking her in piece by piece. She was wearing a powder pink tent dress which went just past her knees. The elegant dress was held up by thick straps artistically styled into a rose when it met the front of the dress. Her hair was in a tight bun on top of her head, two strands fell to her chin and framed her face just right and her bangs were perfectly done, barely above her eyebrows. "Wow, Mai. You look..I mean jus' am-" Mai stopped him by placing a sole finger on his lips. He smiled under her touch. She stood on her toes and planted a small kiss on his lips. _That life doesn't exist anymore._ She thought to herself, believing herself more than she ever had before with her fingers intertwined with Joey's. _Only this life. Only this man. Only this moment. That exists. Not him._

(:::)

Seto had been up and about his office ever since she called. He was constantly moving. Even when he was in his computer chair, his fingers were dancing along the desk. His thoughts drifted back to an easier time. He could feel the essence of high school around him, enveloping around his every sense. He saw Serenity, all dressed in pink for the prom. Her dress was absolutely exquisite. The way it fit her curves and the way it made her look ever so elegant. He remembered that he had even offered to buy it when she scratched at the window. She swore she would save up money for it herself. And did. He'd never forget that dress. And how pretty she was. A faint sound was behind him but he was ignored it. "Pink.." he muttered.

"Sorry to interrupt, Seto Buddy!" Lila piped from behind the mahogany door. He looked up to see the most recent menace in her life. He had enjoyed reminiscing on his past but the 'Brit Babe', as some Kaiba employees had affectionately called her, thought it that other things would be just more important. "Just needed to tell you something that may cheer you up, Grump Socks." Seto groaned in response. "Well, you know that bloke that pretty brunette is shacked up with?" Sadly, he nodded. Just what he wanted to think about, the horrid present. "Well I'm gonna tell you something I already told the blonde. I was on the job with him about three months ago, if you know what I mean." Seto cocked an eyebrow, confused by her lingo. She rolled her eyes. "Sex! Sex, Seto Kaiba. God.." She slammed that door behind her, cackling as she did. Seto's eyes widened and his mouth agape. He suddenly felt sick. He needed to tell her. But would she even believe him? Would she care? Or does he have ulterior motives?

_I saw, I smelled what he did to you, girl, and to be frank, the thought makes my innards curl. _

**A/N: Le gasp! IF you didn't notice, two years is longer than three months. He cheated on her. AND that's not even the same girl he did in the FIRST chap! Double gasp!**

**So you guys are gonna be in love with KhaoticKristy cause without her badgering, this part would not be out. Thanks KK! And also, like I said before, I'm in school I am in hard classes. Don't lose faith in me. I'm just busy. The next part will be out as soon as possible! I get motivated when I get reviews! (Like Catalyna Cullen, KhaoticKristy and pink-strawberries) **

**And Say Anything's new album Say Anything November 3rd! Is this a plug for them though? Am I a fanfiction plant to promote the band? No. I just fucking love Max Bemis. See you next time**


	4. High School Lows: Part One

**High School Lows: Part One**

_The voices surrounding Serenity didn't matter to her. All she cared about was when the red hand on the clock would meet with the twelve once more. Her soft eyes were filled with anticipation. If only the bell would ring sooner. Her eyes darted between her cell phone and the clock above the door. Her feet tapped against the ground and her nails drummed on the desk. The bell finally rung throughout the building and Serenity shot up like a lightning bolt. Her long ponytail had whipped in the wind as she raced out of the room, leaving Tea and Yugi behind. She meant no disrespect for her friends but it was her last class of the day and never had she been so excite__d. It was her acting class she had grown obsessed with in the past month of school. Ever since she was a little girl had a strong passion for acting. Before Joey and her were separated, she would even improvise lines for them to perform. It was the very first opportunity she had to take a class since her parents had no money to pay for classes. She ducked and dodged various students, not wanting to crash into them. Upon entering the classroom, she snaked herself into a seat in the front row. The class consisted of fourteen other people, mostly upperclassman. Serenity was the only one evidently full of excitement while the others remained seemingly apathetic, at least towards her. They had either completely ignored her, were focused on pleasing the teacher, deemed themselves too serious of an actor to be associated with an overeager younger student or all of the above. But this didn't stop Serenity from bouncing up and down in her seat. _

___The bell had rung a second time, indicating class was in session, and the teacher had taken the stage. __Serenity sat attentively, her hands in her lap and her eyes on on the teacher as she walked across the classroom stage. It was Ms. Kiwa, an acclaimed stage and drama actress who decided to teach. She was a thin, tall and beautiful blond who took the stage with elegance, no matter how small. She straddled the chair and rested on the small end table which was used for scenes from the previous class. "Now you're performing Shakespeare. I've allowed you three weeks on this. And expect it not to be perfect, but pretty close." she said lazily but a serious tone lying beneath it. "After a moment of shut eye for a length of fifteen minutes, one of you will be lucky enough to be first." She soon retreated to her desk and rested her head on a pillow she had stolen from the costume and prop room. The students soon figured out the unorthodox methods of their teacher. She slept in the middle of classes, she primped during lectures but when it came to teaching and performing, no matter what she was doing it was in seriousness. During her naps, she'd expect the kids to rehearse. And she could immediately tell if they didn't, how they did not know. But none of them would risk it after what happened to a kid the first week. _

_The students had gone off into their own corners reading lines for Helena, Othello and Marc Antony. But of all the students in the room, there was only one Juliet._

(:::)

_Serenity was lucky enough to be the first one called. Taking in a deep breath, she steadily walked onto the stage motivated by the soft claps of her classmates. Once center stage, she turned around towards the rest of the class, which seemed more vast from her current position. "Hello. I am Serenity Wheeler and I'll be performing a piece from Romeo and Juliet." Another series of small claps followed. She had no reason to be frightened. She had known this play like she wrote herself since she was twelve. But looking at her classmates and her teacher who also to a place in the audience, she froze. She had opened her mouth to recite the first line but immediately shut it again, stuck. Her fingernails dug into her thighs and her teeth gritted together. She was stuck. Tugging at her blue skirt, she could see Ms. Kiwa preparing to chastise her. Out of nowhere, she suddenly heard a voice command the room._

_"By love!" it roared, causing everyone look at the doorway where it came from. It was a tall man with a rather thin frame. His brown hair rested on top of his head in a bowl cut and was not wearing the standard 'white shirt, blue slacks' uniform. He was wearing a black dress shirt and black dress pants as well as black Armani shoes. Serenity's heart stopped after rapidly going for the moments before. Even Ms. Kiwa had shut up and taken notice. "By love, who first did prompt me to inquire; he lent me counsel and I lent him eyes." His shoes echoed across the room as he walked towards the stage. Serenity was caught in his icy blue eyes, trying to fight it but failed. Everyone else watched him in amazement but only her was trapped in his eyes. Soon he was on the stage, standing next to her. He turned her towards him and held her hands gently. "__I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise."_

_As if it were natural, the words began to fall out of her mouth. "Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek for that which thou hast heard me speak to-night fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny what I have spoke: but farewell compliment! Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,' and I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st, thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully: Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay, so thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, and therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light: But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true than those that have more cunning to be strange. I should have been more strange, I must confess, but that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware, my true love's passion: therefore pardon me, and not impute this yielding to light love, which the dark night hath so discovered." __Ms. Kiwa nearly popped out of her seat from excitement. As many times as she has played the tragic ingenue, never had she been so excited for this scene to progress._

_The words that needed to be said for her monologue were already spoken but the man continued. He broke her hold on her hands and looked away from her and towards the ceiling, a hand in the air as if prophetically. "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-" _

_She also continued, wrapping her left arm around his waist and pulling him towards her and reached for his arm and pulled it down. "O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable." He pulled her away at an arms length but still held her by her waist. _

_"What shall I swear by?" Every word was fluid and natural like they were simply speaking. Even the students were at the edge of their seats.  
_

_"Do not swear at all; Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee._" _He pulled her in for an intimate hug, resting his chin on her head as she snuggled on his chest. Ms. Kiwa was the first to her feet, clapping loudly as others followed, even the ones who had shunned Serenity._

_"Bravo! Bravo!" Ms. Kiwa had shouted joyfully. After the class settled down, she ran towards the stage in glee. She separated the two from their embrace and stood between them. "Never before have I seen a large amount of chemistry in a pair before! I-I am completely stunned right now. This is the most impressive piece I have seen in this class! Finally I know that teaching was the best idea! Now I can see the actors and actresses of tomorrow and forge them into excellency!" This was the most enthused Ms. Kiwa had ever been. Serenity looked to the ground at her feet and then glanced over to the mystery man who had saved her. Was he a student? Was he a professional actor? Questions ran through her mind. "And how honored am I to have Seto Kaiba in my classroom!" Serenity's head snapped from the floor and looked at him again. Staring at lone magazine on Ms. Kiwa's desk, she indeed saw the same billionaire on the cover was staring her in the face right now. _

_"Kaiba? As in Kaiba Corp?" she stuttered out. Everyone in the classroom chorused a yes. All she knew of Kaiba was her brother's great disdain for him. He would always warn her about him, especially before they went to school. Not to get close to him.  
_

_"It was suppose to be a surprise for you all but here I am, shocked myself!" she said brightly. "I remember Kaiba from childhood." Ms. Kiwa smiled. "He is an old friend of mine. He's like my little brother. And now, he's my star pupil! And who better to partner him up with than my other new star pupil, Serenity Wheeler?" The other students applauded as Serenity's knees nearly gave out. Partners? As if Joey wasn't going to be angry enough but now they had to work together? "Okay, you two take a seat and Tanner? You're next. You are performing Marc Antony after the death of Caesar, correct?" _Maybe he can speak at my funeral, _Serenity thought to herself._

(:::)

Serenity cradled her head in her hand as Marik drove into the night. She had a pleasant look on her face, a goofy smile forming on her reddened lips. Thinking of Ms. Kiwa's class had always brought her joy. She gave small, repressed giggles to herself as memories of the past flooded through her mind. She played with a loose strand of hair and batting her eyes. Marik eyes shot to her more than a few time trying to decipher the look she had. It began to trouble him to the point where he got antsy. He gnawed at his lips and his fingers formed a steady drum. If he didn't know better, she was flirting with someone in the mirror. Three more chuckles later, Marik screeches to halt at a light. This snapped Serenity out of her thoughts and her eyes were on him. He gave a weak smile, trying to make it look as calm as possible. "Babe, what's going through your mind?" he said, genuinely curious if it was Seto Kaiba.

"Shakespeare." she said in a breath. Marik gave a sigh of relief. He could handle a dead playwright running through her mind. Little did he know it was only half the answer. Marik, regaining his senses, continued to drive sensibly and thought of other things, like what he was doing after he would drop Serenity off. But, as quick as a light switch, he had realized something.

"I thought you pushed that acting stuff aside." Marik said, breaking the temporary silence. Serenity's eyes were wide and her body went stiff. He was right. She had abandoned all dreams of acting long ago when she began to date him. Her nails began to dig into her palm just thinking of the things she pushed aside for him; her dreams of acting, her work at the orphanage, the countless nights she could have seen her mother but instead were filled with sipping cocktails with pompous models. A flame flickered inside of her, wanting to boil over and scream. But she didn't.

"Just saw Romeo and Juliet on cable last night so my mind sorta backtracked to the past. It's okay baby, I'm totally focused on you and your career." Serenity said halfheartedly. Marik didn't seem to notice her sad tone but continued to drive. She sighed, her smile now gone. Did she make the right decision?

(:::)

Seto, Lila and Mokuba walked into the Italian restaurant the Valentines had rented out. The man had taken their coats (and glanced down Lila's dress more than a few times) and they were off. They were all dressed in black and all with confident looks upon their faces. Lila's dress was just above the middle of her thigh. If she were to bend over, the world would see her red underwear. This, of course, was an factor she had projected. Mai and Joey had yet to make an appearance. The dinner would not go one without them so the guests had simply munched on fried mozzarella. He had secretly hoped the Valentines would soon dismiss the party. What a place to get rid of your loneliness, an engagement party. Especially of the man who tore up the best thing to happen to him. Just thinking of the past angered him. But it didn't matter now. The slate is clean, Joey and him were friends and Serenity become a distant marvel. As Mokuba and Lila went off to mingle, Seto sat at the bar solemnly, ordering scotch. As Mai and Joey's friends, as well as people with high stature, flooded into the room, most of them waltzing. The gentle music didn't sooth his thoughts. It only brought forth more rage. But the couples on the floor seemed to be enjoying themselves. Seto even found Lila and Bakura together. He downed his drink and gave a groan. Suddenly, a voice came from his right side. "Osaka Dry, please." the voice requested sadly. A sadness he was familiar with. He looked over and saw her, fighting tears and gritting teeth. Even in misery, she was beautiful. Giving a small 'thank you' to the barista, she started to take a sip.

"You're upset." he said plainly, still facing forward. She looked at him and huffed, the glass hovering her mouth.

"Why do you say that? People drink when they're happy, sad, joyful or sorrowful. Why do I have to be upset?" she questioned.

"You know you and vodka have never gotten along. The only reason you would drink an Osaka Dry, which is _six parts _vodka was if you were upset." he muttered, looking over at her. She looked at him and gave a meek smile, placing the drink back on the counter. "Memories, light the corners of my mind..." Seto said in a singsong tone. Serenity gasped and playfully hit him. She remembered that night vaguely, the alcohol still shrouding most of it. But a distinct portion stuck out...

(:::)

_"Misty watercolor memories of__ the way were.." Serenty's drunken wail rang through the downtown area. Her hair was down and in her face and her heels in her hands. The two exited the bar, Serenity leaning heavily on Seto. He waved off to everyone who was still inside celebrating last night of the production of _Romeo and Juliet_. __It was such a success that even the local newspaper had taken notice. After the first night, the headlines were screaming Seto and Serenity's names. __It was an cast party held by one of the parents of the actors inside their bar. Serenity, naive to what they were serving, was now stumbling and laughing.__ The white sundress she had was stained with green from one of the two appletinis she drunk. "Uh oh!" she chuckled, leaning away from Kaiba and almost into the street. "Bro Bro Joey's gonna be angy! I gots my dress all messed up!" Kaiba pulled her back on his side to help her walk. During the three month production, the two had grown fairly close. Having the occasional lunch before rehearsal and him walking her home if the rehearsal ran late (to her brother's objection, of course). She looked up at Seto and smiled to herself. He gave a look back and halted for a moment. As she felt a blush run across her face, she quickly looked away. She had grown feelings for her onstage Romeo but she dare not say anything. Once he takes her home, once again they will be classmates and never be this close again. Senses were slowly coming back to his head, though still woozy. Suddenly, she twirled around him and smiled, leaning on a wall. "S'alright Seto! I can walk the rest of the way." she said wanted to break from him now so it wouldn't hurt her later._ A low income first year with an CEO third year? _she thought to herself. _Impossible.

_"If you think I'm going to let you, drunk beyond all possible reason, walk in to your apartment with your temperamental brother alone you must be an idiot, Ms. Streisand." he grinned, reaching out his hand towards her. She gave a pout. He wasn't leaving her. In fact, he wore a smile and he seemed so sweet at the moment. She stomped her feet in place and grabbed his hand, yanking him towards her. _

_"Look, you can't be nice to me, mmkay?" she said somberly. They were barely a breath apart. Seto held a confused look on his face._

_"Why wouldn't I be nice to you? I-" The rest of the sentence was left unspoken.  
_

_"You'll only make me like you more. So you can't do that." Serenity said, cutting him off. Even as she smiled, a small tear fell down her cheek. An unrequited love that broke her heart. It was necessary to purge it now. Seto was slightly taken aback by her words. This caused Serenity to shut her eyes tightly, hoping to be in another place. But once recovering from shock, he smiled at her. He pulled a sole strand of hair behind her ear and gave a laugh._

_"That's the point." he said softly. Now Serenity was confused. "Your brother noticed. Have you seen how many times he's been going off on me lately? And your friends. They see it too. That's why they 'mysteriously' run off and leave us together. But somehow I wasn't obvious enough for you." The gap between them began to close steadily. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. In between rehearsal and performances, they've kissed over one hundred times. But the difference was in her heart. She stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, he place a gentle kiss on her forehead. She gave another pout. _

_"What?" Serenity said befuddled. "You big liar! How can you say all of that and-"_

_"To take advantage of a drunk girl is not very chivalrous." he sighed, fighting the urge to ignore what he just said. He then swooped her up from off her feet and the cradled her in his arms. Being suspended in midair made her tighten her grip. "We'll talk in the morning. If you remember that is." The drunken Serenity soon fell asleep in his arms as he carried carefully so she would not fall._

(:::)

The two were laughing, causing all eyes to be on them. Serenity's glass was left untouched whereas Kaiba has enjoyed two more shots. "I had to sober you up when we passed a pharmacy. Water, coffee, jumping jacks, I tried everything!" Seto breathed out the best he could in the midst of hilarity. "But before you even halfway presentable to your brother, you threw up like baby. You even vomited on my shoes!" Serenity's head hit the counter, still laughing. "You swore off appletinis for the rest of your life!"

Serenity, now calm, finally found the breath to speak. "Yeah. I only drink vodka when I'm upset now. Doesn't mean I don't still vomit." she chirped. Seto smirked her. Serenity had realized she had slipped up.

"So you _are _upset." he said slyly. Serenity didn't say a word but gave a pout. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask." He downed another scotch before standing up. The sound of an accordion, a gentle drum and a violin playing the Italian Tango filled the air. He extended a hand toward Serenity. Her face transformed into puzzlement. "I, instead, will help you forget. Two old friends can dance, can't they?"

_All these high school days. Take that away, take myself away. _

* * *

**A/N: This was a bigun! Now don't all go lynching me at once, now. It's been a month since my last update but I'm hurrying! (and give it for KHaoticKristy again ya'll because since she knows where I live and all..she would have killded me!) Everyone really wants to know why Seto and Serenity didn't stay together after a meeting like that. That's why EVERYONE LOVES FLASHBACKS! They are a reader's best friend. (at least in this story) This is part UNO! The part by the name of the second should be out by...soon. Let's just say soon [=  
**

**I LOVE every single person that reviewed this chapter (Mirokusonlybabe, CrazyFaucet, Catalyna Cullen and pink-strawberries) REVIEWS GIVE ME MOTIVATION! If no one reviews, how am I suppose to know you like the story? And if I don't know if you like the story, why continue? [Not a threat, I promise (kinda)]**

**And, as always, I don't own any YuGiOh characters. But I DO own |Ms. Kiwa, Lila and kids in acting class|**

**Til next chap!**

**-Neko Catalyst  
**


	5. High School Lows: Part Two

**High School Lows: Part Two**

_"You what!" Joey had her pinned to the wall of her apartment, an uncontrollable fury in his eyes. She tried to speak but it only resulted in a squeal. Fear made her freeze up though her bottom lip was quivering. She was drowning in his green jacket, trying to hide from him. Joey's emotions were displayed strong, hard and fast. He wasn't particularly abusive, just intimidating. Mai knew that it had to be something medically wrong. She insisted that he go to a doctor but that would only infuriate him even more. In hindsight, it wasn't the best idea to bring up such news with him alone but it was unavoidable when he found the boxers in the bathroom. Joey released her and whipped around, pacing and muttering to himself. She slid to the ground, holding herself, trying not to cry. She opened her mouth once again to defend herself but was cut off. "So he was just here!" Mai didn't give a response. With more anger fueling his actions, he went back over to Mai and roughly brought her to her feet. Slowly, he reached over and pointed to the couch. "Did you fuck him here?" She shook her head, trying to cover her face. He took her face in his hand then pointed to the bedroom door. "Don't you fucking tell me you **fucking fucked him in OUR ROOM!**" Mai fell to the ground once more, not retaining her tears. Still furious, Joey sucked his teeth and tried to speak as calmly as possible. "Who is it." Joey demanded. Mai looked up at him, tears in her purple eyes. She hoped he would find some love in the eyes of the man she cared for so much. There was only hate. She took in a deep breath. She knew what she had to do. She'd rehearsed it many times, anticipating the moment she would let it out. She kept convincing herself it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. As if it was her last breath, she whispered.._

_"Seto. Seto Kaiba."_

(:::)

_Serenity stood in the room, gripping the metal bar on the bed and muttering prayers. For three hours she had waited for him to wake up. He was in critical condition before, where she had been forced to wait outside the ER for what seemed like an eternity but they had assured her that he was going to be okay. The doctors had advised her to go home but the younger Kaiba begged them to allow her to stay. She hadn't had a single easy thought since she found out about his condition. Her hand gently went over the wound on his wrist, freshly stitched up. She cringed as she removed her hand and gripped the bar once again. Soon, Mokuba entered the room holding two coffees. He stiffened upon looking at Serenity. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes bloodshot. She was shaking like no one had ever seen. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her gray nightgown and black slippers after she got the call from him. He walked up to her grasping her shoulder and handing her one of the coffees, gently urging her to sit down. She only nodded, sitting on the couch and sipping the beverage slowly. "It's been deemed as an accident even though Joey's car had a note. It was basically a suicide note saying how he was gonna kill Seto even if his own life hung in the balance." Serenity seemed to stiffen with Mokuba's notice. He tried to but it more delicately. "Before you got here, right before Seto went to sleep, he had agreed to let Joey off with no charges if he got some help for his..ugh.." Mokuba didn't know how to phrase it without offending Serenity. Serenity just nodded again, letting him know she understood. He stood by his brother's side, trying to keep a strong disposition. Suddenly, Serenity began to tear up. Mokuba rushed beside her to discover what was wrong._

_"This is my fault, Mokuba." she breathed out, trying to wipe her eyes. She felt like she didn't have anymore tears to spare but the managed to come out anyway. "I had just told Joey about us moving in together. And how we were going to London for two months to see Shakespeare at the West End theater. And I know it would set him off. I **knew **it. But I told him anyway. He sounded so angry, he just hung up the phone and..." Serenity paused and buried her head into her arms, hunched over her knees. Mokuba tried to stroke her back but she only popped up and shrieked, "What if he never wakes up? Joey was gunning for **him **because of **me**!" She got up and began to pace, trying to even herself out with no avail. A nurse popped in to scold Serenity but Mokuba shooed her away, assuring it was all okay.  
_

_Mokuba got up and wrapped his arms around her, trying to keep her in one place. She stood still, looking at the love of her life, bruised and bandaged. She clawed at Mokuba's arm as she slid down to the ground, causing him to lean over her. "Serenity, maybe you should leave. Calm down a little." Mokuba murmured, wary of his slumbering brother. He pulled her back to her feet, struggling to keep her stable. "Or better yet, we'll go for a walk. What do you say?" His words went unheard. She moved slowly to the hospital bed. She leaned over the bed and began to whisper._

_"I love you. No matter what happens, I love you. I wish you could hear me." she muttered right before she planted the smallest kiss on his lips. Mokuba couldn't hear her but he could feel whatever she was saying was real down to his bones. He knew what is was. True love. Serenity caressed his cheek as if it was the last time. _

_"Serenity, it'll be alright." Mokuba began to approach her as she grabbed her chest and sobbed. Mokuba bore a look of confusion. Soon after she stormed out of the room and was at the elevators. Mokuba was first frozen at what happened. Still puzzled, Mokuba followed, trying to comprehend what was happening. When he saw her, the doors were already closing. he watched the numbers descend to the lobby level. __Rushing down the stairs, the coffee in his hand fell out of his hand. This didn't matter at the moment. He wanted to see if Serenity was okay. When he saw her again, she was feverishly writing something on a pad of paper. Before Mokuba could question it, she took off running out the doors. He quickly read the pad, gasping as he read its contents. He tore the paper off the pad and tucked it into his pocket._

(:::)

She hesitantly took his hand, abandoning the untouched drink. Seto pulled her to the dance floor. His right arm encircled her back as her left was around his neck. Their other hands were together, holding on to the others gently. His hand was comfortable on her silk bow, caressing gently. This sent chills up and down Serenity's back, though she tried not to express it. They were at the edge of the dance floor, others occupying the center. Their footsteps were small, moving slightly to the left and right casually. Serenity had tried to avoid eye contact with him. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped in his gaze. Seto noticed her avoidance but didn't question it. It was probably still awkward to be dancing with an ex. He also noticed their pace, slow and simple as if they were waltzing. A basic six-step. Safe. He could tell whatever was troubling her before still haunted her thoughts. Now this, he could not stand for. "Serenity, you act like you don't remember the tango." he murmured, enough for her to hear. Her eyes widened but never looked at him. She looked away and blushed. The last time they had did the tango was at a benefit for Kaiba Corp. Everyone had applauded their performance. That was just a week before...

"Well, I'm not positive what we learned would go with the music." she said hastily, rushing old thoughts from her mind. "Anyway, I couldn't possibly remember everything. It was a long time ago." Seto gave a scoff. Her eyes snapped toward him. "I'm honest! I don't wanna make a fool of myself." He could tell she was lying. Upon hearing her words, Seto began to quicken the steps, leading them into a small leap and spin and landed with his right knee in the air with his foot grounded, his left leg behind him stretched as far as possible on the tip of his toe. A set steps Serenity mirrored perfectly, down to the _resolución. _A simple move and Serenity was breathing heavily. It wasn't because of the physical requirements, but the emotional ones. The love, passion and valor between them, flickering to start the movie reels in her mind. "Just like we used to." Serenity muttered, more to herself than him. They slid back to a vertical position gracefully. She looked into his eyes, the familiar icy blue freezing her down to her toes. He looked into her warm honey eyes as if it was high school again, still together. Serenity felt it too. The play rehearsals, the dinner dates, the sneaking behind Joey's back. All familiar. The worst memory came back to her like a nightmare. She grimaced at the thought. It was that day. The day that...

She turned to run away. Her heart was about to burst. Serenity couldn't stand to be so close to him. She was more upset over thinking about Seto than Marik. Aggressively yet gracefully, he spun her back into his arms. She looked at him again, unable to move away again. "If I let you leave now with you still upset, you'll be walking out of here singing Streisand. Can't let that happen." He began to lead them in the dance again. "I'm here tonight to help you forget."

(:::)

The pair had abandoned the party to experience more adventurous activities elsewhere. The two were breathing heavily in the throes of passion. Small moans were released into the air from both of them with each article of clothing that was torn off. Her toes curled tightly as he sucked on her neck, her weakest spot. She arched her back and clawed at his shoulders. Quickly exchanged sloppy kisses only fueled the heat deep inside their bodies. In mere moments, her dress was on the dashboard and his tie suspended from the rearview mirror. His shirt was halfway open and his pants around his ankles. She was in nothing but her red undergarments and black heels, pressing him against her. After approximately thirty minutes of talking, playing coy and waltzing lead them in the backseat of his car, tearing at each other with their teeth and ripping off the other one's clothes. The car was parked behind bushes, away from the eye of smokers outside the restaurant. He paused for a moment, holding her at an arms length. His eyes trailed over her delicate features, taking them all in at once. "God, you're beautiful." he said, barely above a whisper. He looked deep into her gray eyes, fascinated what was behind them. She had seemed helpless from that position. Him on top of her, closing in on the moment the two would be together 'intimately'. He gave a huff, pulling up his pants. Instantly she grabbed his wrists, her eyes saying it all. "Miss Lila, please don't be misguided. I fancy you quite bit. But if we happen to bump uglies here, well...let me just say I could provide a better location for such-"

"Oh no, _Mr. _Bakura." she snarled. "You do not turn the engine damn off once you got the bloody thing warmed up and ready to go!"

"No one's cutting off an engine of any kind. I'm just changing the direction of the car." he said, trying to calm her down. It didn't help as her glare was still constant. "Trust me darling, you wouldn't be the first one I've had in the back seat of this car and-"

She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him down to her level. "You wouldn't be the first bloke I've had in a backseat of a car!" she cut in fiercely. "You are not going to tell me I left a room full of very rich old men looking for a mistress for some Brit brat piece of shit looking for a quickie who doesn't even wanna go through with it!"

"Trust me, Ms. Lila. There will be nothing quick about it." he said slyly, raising himself back up. She simply scoffed at him. The mood was escaping through the crack in the window. "I'm simply suggesting we go to another place. A woman with such beauty shouldn't be subject to such a horrid place like this. I'm simply planning for la-"

"Why plan for later when you can live in the _now_!" she exclaimed, pushing herself up an inch apart from his face. A fury was in her eyes. "I'm half naked, pressed up against you and you're backing down? Sure we could go to your place, have a drink, be hard at work for a few minutes and me going out the door afterward-" She was interrupted by his soft lips crashing against hers. Her hand went through his white locks passionately. Almost instantly she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck as if it was natural. It wasn't like the previous ones they had. This one was soft and sweet as the other ones were fast and furious. She arched her back, causing their bodies to touch once again. Once he broke the kiss, she looked at him in amazement. Never before had she felt something like that; a kiss that went down to her toes. Something that made her entire body react like that.

"If you think I would let_ you_ leave after a few minutes, you're completely nuts."

(:::)

They stood outside the doors nervously. Mai fidgeted with her dress as she urged Joey to straighten his tie. She even checked her fingernails to see if any dirt had found its way under during the drive over. Joey was wary of meeting his in-laws. Both of his parents were gone and wasn't expecting Mai's parents to even care about them after they practically disowned her a few years back. He tried not to show how rattled he was in efforts to ease Mai a little. After moments of correcting their outfit's flaws the two walked in, arms linked. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned around to applaud. This brought a slight blush on Mai's part. Most were men and women she hadn't seen since she lived with her parents. Some, however, were new faces. All the waitresses, who were dressed varying bridesmaid's dresses, began to sing 'Here Comes The Bride'. This only embarrassed her even more. But nothing that happened prior could compare to the moment her mother, her sixth drink in hand, stumbled up to her and threw her arms around her like a mad woman. She disconnected her and Joey who was swallowed up by a crowd of relatives. Before she could shout in protest, her mother began to speak. "Honey! How _goooood_ it is to see you!" the woman squealed. Her long blond hair was held in a ponytail, caressing her lower back. She was the same height Mai, though Mai could barely notice this because her mother began to jump up and down. Strands of white danced throughout her mane. Her violet eyes mirrored Mai's perfectly (once she settled down and stood still). "You have no IDEA how good this is for your daddy's politimal career!"

The pieces began to come together. She slapped her forehead, wishing she could have seen it earlier. It was all over the papers about her father running for office. All the political figures and reporters in attendance would eat up the wedding of a mayor candidate's only daughter. Mai looked for an exit but all of her friends were M.I.A.. Yugi was caught up in a conversation she couldn't quite see, Mokuba, Tristan and Duke were hitting on the same waitress, and Téa had called on the way over talking about her ill grandmother. "How's AA, Mom?" Mai said bitterly. Her nervousness had been enveloped by another emotion; frustration. All hope that her mother had changed were thrown out the window.

"Shush!" her mother said harshly. Her message contrasted with her volume. "It's a secret! That's why it's anonomyn!" A large older gentleman with snow white hair came up to Mai's mother and moved from in front of her, taking her place. "Oh! Oh! Baby, it's your father! Aren't you glad!"

He greeted her with a warm smile. Before he could open his mouth to talk, Mai had a few words of her own. "You exile me for three years and you want me to be your meal ticket? Hell no, I'm gone." He kept the smile as cameras flashed around them. He put his arms around her and pulled away from the press. His smile disappeared and an evil look donned his face. "That's the dad I know." It did hurt her, hoping her parents really cared about her. But it was only to help themselves. They were already one of the richest families in Domino but now politics. Mai now knew without a doubt where she got it from.

"I'll pay for your wedding with the fucking street urchin if you just smile pretty and get Daddy in office."

(:::)

_After retrieving the name, Joey stormed out of the apartment for retribution. Watching him drive away, she wiped her tears away on the sleeve of his jacket. Now she was angry. She didn't dare lose contact with the parking lot, in case Joey came back. "You fucking dick, leaving your boxers out where he could see." Mai snarled as the nude man came out from the closet. "You did it on purpose." He put no effort into covering himself, feeling no shame of what he had to show. His bronze body was toned and looked as if it was a carbon copy of a Greek God. No matter how angry Mai was she couldn't help but peek, hating herself a few moments later. It only reminded her of the act of betrayal she had just committed. He picked up a hair tie from the kitchen table and tied back his sandy blond mane with a smug look on his face. "It's bad enough I cheated on Joe but to lie and say it's Serenity's boyfriend?" Mai buried her face in her hands. Her voice was now meek, the man could barely hear. "Joey's going for blood, I just know it. I'm sorry Serenity, I'm so sorry." He came up from behind her, planting gentle kisses on her neck. She turned around and shoved him away. She stared daggers at him.  
_

_"Don't get angry at me like I told you to say Kaiba. I'm just the guy you slept with." he scoffed, picking up his silk boxers and putting them on. He simply shrugged off the coldness Mai had just given him. "But damn. I feel bad for that guy. Everyone knows your boy toy is fucking insane, even if the dumbass can't acknowledge it himself._

_"He just has some anger management issues. Who doesn't?" Mai said nervously, knowing he was right. Joey was quite crazy lately. Much to her dismay, he hadn't dealt with it. But she still felt as his girlfriend, she had to defend him. At least, she hoped she was still his girlfriend.  
_

_"That's why we've been fooling around for two months, remember?" he chuckled, going in the back and putting on his black shirt. Mai gnawed at her fingernails on the ground as he came back around. She only glared at him, knowing he was absolutely right. "But oh, you had to complicate things with your self righteous mission on saving Serenity from the evil corporate monster. **After** we start fucking, mind you. Because you can deny all you want to but you're just jealous. 'Why does she get the rich boyfriend without the bi polar disorder?' 'Why can't Joey afford to take me to the fancy restaurants he takes her to?' Mai, you gotta admit you just always want more. Especially since your parents want nothing to do with you anymore. That's why you got the apartment. No more cushy goodness Mai. But you gotta realize Seto and what'sherface aren't your parents." He stretched majestically upward, smirking at her.  
_

_Mai popped up and and shoved him once more. "That's a lie! A terribly absurd lie! I love Joey more than I love myself!" The same fire Joey had seemed to be burning in her eyes. "No matter what I've done, I love Joey more than anything and don't you **fucking **say anything different!" _

_Mai stood strong, waiting for a response. He sauntered back up to her, caressing her cheek. Mai flinched. It was like acid searing her skin. He smirked and whispered in her ear, "Then why are naked under that coat, soaked in **my** sweat? Why did you call me today, moaning and pleading for me to come over because Joey was 'having one of his days'?" Mai was shaking. She was shaking uncontrollably. She fell to the ground defeated. She covered her ears, trying to block him out but he only continued, increasing his volume. "And for 500, Alex, why did you tell a lie, knowing that will condemn someone else?" Mai's throat tightened. She felt like couldn't breath. She felt like she didn't **deserve **to breath. "You can love Joey to death but Mai, you always want more. And when you see people who have more, you take them down in envy. More money, more sex, more more more. All that can just be wallpaper to cover your boyfriend's faults. Just to get more happiness. Well? Did having sex with me, breaking your boyfriend's heart and ruining your friend's relationship make you happy?"_

_Mai's hands gently went over her clothing. The shorts; Joey's. The green jacket; Joey's as well. She gently touched every button, realizing how many times she wore this to comfort herself. The feeling of security, its love and warmth. Tainted by her skin. She began to cry hysterically. "NO!" she screamed, burying her head in Joey's jacket. What she had done had fully came to mind, flooding her with even more guilt. He made no effort to comfort her. He went to the bedroom to get fully dressed. "Joey was ALL I needed! I didn't need a better apartment! I didn't need fancy dinners! I just needed him! Only him! Oh GOD! And Seto and Serenity. Who cared about anyone else? They didn't even matter when it came to us! Oh what have I done!" Her words were unintelligible due to her sobbing. Her apologies, though genuine, would go unheard._

_He came back around, blue jeans on and sunglasses at the top of his head. He scoffed at her pain. __"Anytime, babe. Anytime." he cackled, exiting the apartment leaving the broken girl on the floor._

_She crawled to the door and pounded her fists on the door. "I HATE YOU MARIK ISHTAR!"  
_

(:::)

They were in an expensive suite in the Dai-ichi Hotel, a brand new hotel in Domino. The shades were drawn and the lights shut off. The sounds of the two breathing heavily echoed throughout the room. Lila's childish chuckle brought a smile They were both in bed, clawing at each other trying to gain control of the opposite. Bakura was on top of her, caressing at her legs. She laughed as he did so, trying to get him off. She playfully bit his collarbone. Suddenly, a knock at the door caused them to cease their activity. Lila giggled, pushing him away. "Get the door! They took forever!" Giving a small chuckle, he stumbled out of the bed, struggling to maneuver in the dark. On his way, he tripped over articles of clothing, bottles of lotion and a shower curtain. He even bumped into a table, shouting out obscenities in pain. Lila could only laugh. Before opening the door, he flicked the switch to reveal that he was still wearing his boxers. A refined older man stood with a cart full of pillows. Ruffling his already messy white hair, Bakura gave nervous chuckle. "Hurry up with the bleedin' pillows! My side wouldn't last a fortnight!" Curious, the older gentleman attempted to enter the room with no success because Bakura blocked him firmly. Cocking an eyebrow, the man cleared his throat. He simply left the cart full of pillows and walked away. Bakura wheeled it in and shut the door behind him. The both let out earth shattering laughs. Lila was wearing Bakura's abandoned shirt, as well as her own undergarments. "Never in my life would I have thought I would be building pillow forts in a hotel room alone with a handsome chap such as yourself." she said shyly, still giggling a little. She fluffed a pillow with a smile. "I don't make it to dinner, typically."

Bakura watched her in wonder. He felt so strange. If it were any other girl, they'd be rolling around in his backseat right now, not in one of the most expensive hotels in Domino. Ever since they arrived, they'd been pillow fighting, jumping on beds and more recently building forts. He smiled to himself. "You look so innocent right now. I just wanna..."

Lila eyed him as he trailed off. "What? Get in my knickers?" she said, slight disappointed. This was probably the most fun she had ever had with the majority of her clothes on. To end it now was slightly depressing. But to her joy, he shook his head.

"Take you to dinner."

(:::)

Seto and Serenity were walking outside together after the thrilling performance they had given inside. It consisted of many turns, twists and even Serenity being lifted into the air on more than one occasion. Moves Serenity thought she had forgotten but performed as a professional. Sweaty from their routine, they decided to step into the cool night air. It was mostly silent between them except offhanded remarks about things they passed such as billboards and landmarks. Taking in a deep breath, Serenity gained the courage to speak. "It was Marik's fault." she said sharply. Seto stopped in his tracks and turned towards her. Her head was hanging somberly. "Or maybe perhaps my fault for getting upset, who knows?" Seto placed one hand on her shoulder and the other lifted up her chin. Her eyes darted away. "I really thought he was going to stay tonight but in the end it seemed like he was planning to leave the whole time. He just dropped me off, told me to have someone take me home and took off." Looking back at him, she realized how close they were. His eyes, a familiar blue, staring into hers. She could feel her cheeks growing red. She took a step away from him and continued to walk. She felt lightheaded. All recognizable feelings. He held her hand with the engagement ring tightly, reminding herself of her commitment to Marik.

He watched her walk away, her legs brilliant against the sidewalk. He took a gulp. She looks exactly how she did three years ago. Seto took one hand in the other. Her warmth lingered. He felt he was getting too close but he couldn't help it. Seto knew the boundaries that were drawn but damn it felt good crossing them. Noticing how far she was getting away from him, he began to walk again. "Never think it's your fault, Serenity." Seto said tightly. He thought it sounded awkward, giving her advice on her relationship. But from where he was sitting, it wasn't her fault. It was Marik's for leaving a girl like her alone tonight. Seto rushed to catch up with her. "Well, you're not the only one who was abandoned this evening." he said, trying to make her feel better. "I came here with Lila and my brother and they both ran off." Serenity looked at him curiously. "Not that I'm dating Lila or anything like that. It's the same principle." Serenity smiled at Seto's meek attempt which made him sigh in relief. She gave a small shiver, the air now making her cold. He quickly placed his jacket on her shoulders. She stopped for a moment and grabbed his hand, stopping him as he moved forward. He turned around to look at a serious faced Serenity. Their eyes locked but no one spoke. Even the world seemed to cease for the former lovers. Her thumb caressed his wrist, making him wince. Serenity came to life, holding on to his wrist even tighter.

"So it still hurts? After all this time" Serenity said as tears threatened to come from her eyes. "I've wondered all this time. Looks like they did a good job but still. The scars completely gone but you still are hurt?" Seto snatched his wrist away and turned away from her. The mood had turned somber as Seto began to walk away. Serenity stood strong as she shouted, "Don't lie to me Seto! Tell me if it's there. Is it?" He didn't stop though his knuckles turned white. As much as he wanted to say yes, he couldn't bring himself to do so. Her scent was caught in his nostrils. A hand came to his forehead, grasping it tightly_. _

_Seeing her, touching her, talking to her, all a mistake! _he thought, snarling at himself. _Now I can't even try to shake her. Oh God, please don't let me turn around. Please don't let her follow me. I can't take it. Spare me this. _His hopes unanswered, she ran towards him right as he was about to start walking on a cross walk. By the time he reached the center, she hugged him from behind, stopping them both. Cars beeped and people shouted but all Serenity could do was hold on to him tighter. "I'm not gonna let it happen again. Use my body as a shield. throw me in the way I don't care!" she cried into his back. Seto's eyes went wide. Her words shook him. He froze. Her grip began to loosen slightly though still clinging to him. Every moment replayed in his head. The screeching of the tires nearly made him collapse. He realized she was still hurt from what happened. She carried the scars of what happened on her heart. Seto could tell that by the way she shook. Three years of coping with the fact she left him in that hospital bed with no assistance. "Please stop..please..." Her voice was small but her message was put across. Serenity felt him turn around in her arms. He scooped her up, cradling her carefully. He pressed his forehead against hers, their noses touching.

Alarms were going off in both of their heads. They were dangerously close. Too close. This wasn't allowed. Tears were coming from her eyes. Fire was raging in his heart. He caressed her cheek and wiped the tears away. "I'm not going anywhere." he muttered for only her to hear.

Slowly, the gap between their lips began to vanish. Serenity was nervous. Many thoughts went through her brain. Marik. Marik came to her mind. He was strong in her thoughts. The man she loved. The man she was engaged to be married to. Suddenly, her mind went blank. The only thing she could think about was the man in front of her. Then questions. Questions came. Would Marik see this? Did Marik really care if he left her by herself? Were Seto's lips as soft as she remembered? The gap was even smaller now. Cars even stopped blaring once they realized who was in the center of the crosswalk. Serenity shut her eyes and slowly closed the space between them. Yes, yes they were.

_Stress and high duress, replace the hope I had everyday. All these high school days...  
The best years of my life oh my God I hope not let's go _

* * *

**A/N: AWW! Ain't that sweet! Okay, a whole bunch of open ended scenes, so instead of one cliffhanger, you have like..six (Sorry Kristy). Did I do this on purpose? Maybe. Or maybe I'm just trying to get this chapter out. Yeah, that too. But now you care about everyone! **

**And because of my system crashing like ALOT, its not as long as I wanted and probably feels rushed. Only a little. And hey! If you see a continuity error or a spelling error, tell me! I'm not Superman (mainly because I'm with out penis but those are technical things). **

**And, as normal. I'm giving love to my reviewers. Mirokusonlybabe, Catalyna Cullen, KhaoticKristy, and a newbie Secluded Sapphire! Thank you guys! And as normal, I don't OWN YuGiOh! I wouldn't have mad GX if I did..**

**Last Time Corrections Were Made: 11/10/09  
**


	6. By Tonight

**By Tonight**

The engagement dinner had started and Mai was sitting with a smile next to her parents. Her father was communicating with the political figures as her mother was being escorted to a car outside to be taken home. She had succumbed to her father's demands after speaking with Joey about the situation. He eagerly decided to play along for the sake of the wedding, much to Mai's disapproval. To Mai, he played the role a little too well. But encouraged by Joey, she talked with the men and women who her father depended on for votes. Mai's eyes scanned the area in search for Serenity but still didn't see her. She tried to get to her phone to call her but her father kept on swatting her hands every time they dipped below the table. He hadn't even allowed her to go to the bathroom. Anyone else who would know about her whereabouts were too far away. As much as she wanted to frown, she knew her father would strangle her if he saw her. "Oh Mai dear! You missed the most marvelous performance!" her father said brightly. Mai turned to her father and feigned interest. "It was Seto Kaiba and a friend of yours! I don't even _know _Seto Kaiba personally so when he walked in the door I was quite surprised as you can tell. The two left together for a walk. You should have seen them tango!" he trailed on. He continued to speak but Mai's mind was on repeat.

_It was Seto Kaiba and a friend of yours...seen them tango...left together for a walk..._

"Seto Kaiba was on my list. We've known each other since high school." Mai mumbled quickly. 'But Fath-"

"You know Seto Kaiba?" he said shocked. When Mai lived with her parents, they never took an interest in her friends, only encouraging that she only talk to those of influence. "Looks like my daughter is a socialite, huh?" Another small wave of laughter went through the table. The ripple of giggles only served to agitate Mai.

"Did she have long brown hair and was she wearing a white dress? Red bow?" she suggested, trying to maintain calm through she was eager for an answer.

He nodded, stroking his chin in contemplation. "Yes, yes she did. Oh! It was the girl that was on the cover of a magazine years ago with Kaiba. Ancient old thing. I believe it was after that, Kaiba pressed some heavy charges. Man, I wouldn't want to go against a Kaiba in court!" he joked as the people around him chuckled.

Things were adding up. Serenity had sent her a text earlier saying that Marik wasn't coming. She knew for a fact Seto wouldn't dance with anyone but Serenity. Mai and Joey turned to each other, both of their thoughts going to the same thing. Mai stood up but her dad pulled her back down harshly before anyone could notice. "Oh, no you don't. Your ass belongs to me." he whispered so no one could here. "I gave you everything when you were younger, picked out the best men in the city but now you wanna be a bimbo and get married to the scum of Domino on _my _dime. You're staying right here." With a defeated sigh, Mai nodded and took a bite of the food on her plate. Mai had given up but her father pressed on. "You are friends with Téa Gardner, the movie star. Yugi Moto, the world famous duelist. Seto Kaiba, a damn CEO but you want to marry the _failure_." Joey, his mouth agape what he just heard. Not only had he offended him but his fiancee. He understood why Mai didn't wanna be caught up with her father. She had just escaped his clutches only to be pulled into them again. Roughly, he stood up with a champagne glass proudly in his hand, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I wanna make a toast to my dear soon ta' be father in law," Mai's father grinned widely accepting the chance at free publicity, "who I jus' met today." The grin soon disappeared from his face. Before he could urge Joey to sit down, he had opened his mouth again to speak. "Strange how long me and Mai have been datin' without me eva meeting her folks. If ya didn't happen ta' know, it's been four an' a half years. She met my mom before she died. Hell, my mom was the one who told me to get married to her. Called her the sweetes' girl in da whole world. And she was right." Mai's breath seemed to leave her. She hadn't known Mrs. Wheeler felt that way. "Her rich fancy smancy life didn't make me back down. I loved her too much. I still love her. Maybe I don't talk so good and not the richest guy she could be wit' that's fact. But I'd rather die before I let the one I love be dragged in wit' the likes of youse. I almost let her."

Mr. Valentine stood up with a weak smile on his face. "Now son, you should settle down before you say something you regret.." he seethed through his teeth while struggling to keep his emotions from capsizing his grin. Though threatened, Joey kept going.

"How dare a father let her be a publicity stunt? 'Specially one that abandoned her two years ago 'cause she was wit' me'. He hadn't even met me. But now, she's useful 'cause the media rats lurking 'round here love a father-daughter bond. You gotta be an actual father first." Mai's father was red in the face, looking like he was going to strangle Joey while Mai gave the world's brightest smile. "So I make a toast ta you, father-in-law. Good luck on the campaign trail. Wit'out us. Come on, guys grab and go." His friends did indeed grab as much food as their arms could carry before they walked out the door. Gasps were being sounded as snapshots were taken of Mr. Valentine face, surely to be in the paper the very next morning. Mai stood up with tears in her eyes, Joey greeting her with a warm smile. He squatted down slightly, giving an invitation for a piggyback ride. Mai took it gladly as some patrons 'ooh'ed' and 'ahh'ed'. Joey stood back up after making sure she was secured. "Don't call our house unless it's to really reconnect wit' her. Not to exploit her. And trus' me. I'm gonna make you go through hurdles to get this girl back in ya life. And that's only if she let's ya." Mai giggled as he held her up.

Mr. Valentine slammed his foot on the ground. "This is outrageous! Mai Valentine, as your father I _demand _that you explain this Neanderthal if you have _any_ hopes of being apart of this family again! "

Mai could only smirk at him. With her confidence back, she could now speak out against her tyrannical father. "Dad, I'm gonna get married to Joey without your money for the wedding. We're gonna have a beautiful ceremony because Mom won't be there drinking herself into a stupor and you won't be there complaining about the texture of the cake down your throat. When I have children, they are going to be loved, not neglected. They are going to be able to play with all the kids at recess because I won't tell them to leave the poor kids alone. I'm gonna live the life you look down upon and I'm gonna do it as Mrs. Joseph Wheeler!" The majority of the people applauded her as her and Joey exited the restaurant, happy just being together. She kissed him on his cheek as she felt him laugh. For the first time in years she felt genuienely free, riding on the back of the one she loved most, away from her parents.

(:::)

After a few more moments, the two broke their gentle kiss as they noticed the headlights of cars shining on them. They simply stared at each other, utterly speechless. Bystanders stood in awe but not one dared to take a picture because everyone knew dealing with Kaiba Corp was not for the fainthearted. Seto shot a glare at one of them causing everyone to continue walking or go back to their cars. Seto walked back to the sidewalk, allowing cars to pass. He didn't want to share this moment with anyone but he took what he could get. The joy in heart could not be measured. Serenity, however, was more uneasy than joyful. Guilt plagued Serenity's mind. She thought about Marik, who she believed had _always _been faithful to her. But in her heart, it felt so right to be in his arms. Him cradling her protectively and her arms wrapped around his neck. It was like she was back in high school with her boyfriend. She even began to bring her head to reunite their lips but as her fingers touched, she felt the engagement ring. Her left hand felt like an anchor, weighing her down.

"Wow." Seto exhaled, his entire vocabulary struck down to that one had ceased Serenity's thoughts and drove her mind back to Seto. Seto; the person who took in her mother before she died, the person who had suffered injuries because of her brother and rescued her from injury from her father. The same Seto who she had seen happy and sad times with. The same one she—

Her thoughts started up again as she noticed Seto's eyes close once again. He was leaning towards her, trying to kiss her again. Just in time, she turned her head so his lips landed on her reddened cheek. "Mai and Joey should be there by now." she said abruptly just as Seto pulled back, a confused look on his face. "We need to get back." Seto seemed to suppress a frown as he let her down. He understood that Serenity was a soon to be married woman. He knew that she probably considers that a mistake. But in his mind, it was a _damn_ good mistake. Serenity tried with all her might to get away from him, afraid of what she would do next. Seto ran to catch up with her. She was not very hard to catch, her heels setting her back.

They ended up under a lonely streetlight. Cold water droplets began to fall of them, the quantity growing larger by the second. Seto tried to speak with her because didn't want her to be angry with him. He had reached for her shoulder. "Serenity, I'm sor-"

"No!" she interrupted, whipping around and staring at him with a hurt look. Seto was taken aback, trying to keep himself from stumbling. "I can't be next to you." The old nervous feeling she got was rising up from her toes. She kept tearing away the boundaries of ex boyfriend in her mind and saw Seto as the boy she fell in love with. She shook her head, trying to shake the sensation. "I can't be doing this. I'm with Marik now." Serenity said firmly, though it seemed as if she was trying to convince herself more than Seto. "I'm not suppose to be kissing my ex! Especially if it's the one I put in the hospital!" Tears began to well up in her eyes and her bottom lips seemed to quiver violently. Seto swallowed hard and grasped onto his forehead. Cautiously, he wrapped his arms around Serenity. Their eyes never broke away from each other. "If I never told Joey about our trip then he wouldn't have hit a stupid car with his and we might—" Before she could continue, Seto shushed her. She tried to speak again but he simply shushed her again.

"Serenity, don't tell me all this time, _that _of all things has been on your mind?" Seto questioned, lightly pressing his forehead against hers. It seemed so ridiculous to him couldn't help but release the smallest of laughs. "Haven't you been listening to me?" he said softly, whipping her eyes. "It's not your fault."

"Really!" she said through tears, mixing with the water falling from the sky. "I thought you hated me! I thought-" He silenced her by placing a sole finger on her lips. The faint sound of thunder rung through their ears.

She felt so secure under his touch. Every caress made her yearn for more. They rocked gently back and forth as if he was lulling her to sleep, the coming storm a lullaby. "It's never your fault. It's never been your fault." It seemed like a great boulder had been lifted off her shoulders. For these three years, she had carried the burden around and it felt like she could fly. His voice guided her out of the darkness she had put herself in. "How could I hate you? I never stopped loving you, Serenity." Serenity's heart pounded at full force but it felt like her skin seemed to grow colder. Her mouth couldn't produce words but her body seemed to move on its own. Fiercely, she pressed her lips against him. Tears still streamed down her face as he returned her kiss. The streak of lightning illuminated the sky. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and her arms made her way to his hair. So many emotions passed between two people in a kiss. Longing, passion, love. A mixture that was present in their very souls. Kisses with the intensity of lightning. She parted her lips and allowed him to deepen their kiss, their tongues meeting for the first time in three long years. His hands traveled her body as if for the first time, every new inch more exciting than the last.

Serenity soon broke the kiss and whispered something into Seto's ear. Upon hearing what she said, his eyes widened but a calm smile came to his face. "Can we walk from here?"

Butterflies soon swarmed in her stomach but she finally conquered them. Serenity shook her head, a playful smile on her face. "I wanna run."

(:::)

She sat in the hotel restaurant which was nearly empty by the time she got there. Lila kept fidgeting with her dress and her hair as she awaited Bakura's arrival. He had told her that he would be down in exactly five minutes but it felt like an eternity. It seemed like the first time she was worried about how one specific man thought she looked. She'd done everything to her hair to make it look perfect for him though it felt like it wasn't enough. She was in the same dress she was wearing earlier but now it seemed like it was too short. She kept pulling it down every time she moved an inch. And now she was uncomfortable with the handful of men staring at her. She tried to cover her excessive cleavage with her hands in attempt to divert the perverts. Soon she saw his white hair from a distance. Nervously, she kept picking with her hair and dress. Mid primp she stopped herself and thought to herself, _What's all this then? I mean, the man has already seen you nearly naked. At least you've got clothes on now, right? _She placed her hands in her lap (not without taking one more yank at her dress) and watched as Bakura sit down. He gave her a nod and then picked up a menu. Realizing she never even glanced at hers, she quickly picked up and glanced through the pages.

But even as she passed the exquisite cuisine on the page, she peeked over the menu and looked at him for moments at a time. Each time, she would cover herself like a child and cover her pounding heart. _What's up with me? I feel like I'm completely off my rocker! I mean, it's just one bloke aft_—

"Lila?" he questioned, causing her to pop her head up yet again from behind her cover. "Dessert okay with you? We ate lots at the engagement party." She nodded, putting down the menu as if under the spell of his voice. The waitress had walked away with their orders on the pad. "I also ordered some red wine. Is that fine?"

She nodded once again. "Brill." She now felt incredibly self conscious, looking every which way except for at him. Bakura noticed but found it laughable. She looked so adorable to him, shifting in her chair. He let out a small chuckle which caused Lila to look dead in his eyes. "You laughing at me?"

"Just a bit, love." he said between small, sustained laughs. "I mean you're the one who is wiggling like a worm." With a gasp, Lila crossed her arms and gave a pout. He reached over the small table and grabbed her right hand with his. He pulled it in the middle of the table and caressed it gently. "Now don't be like that. I think it's cute." Lila snatched her hand back, her face tinted pink. She tried to idly place her hand over her mouth and cheek trying to hid her shame. Bakura tilted his head to the side. "Why ever are you so nervous?" Lila bit her bottom lip trying to suppress her words. "Is it me? Did I do something wrong?" She shook her head violently. "You look a bit bothered, are you sure? I can lay you down in the room and take care of you if there's something flying about in your stomach." Her eyes finally met his eyes, so gentle and kind. She couldn't take anymore of the sweet nothings.

Lila stood up roughly. "Well, you're the one talking all nice and treating me to dinner and having _stupid_ pillow fights with me!" Lila burst, realizing all the attention she had brought to herself. The little bit of people that did inhabit the restaurant gave a small laugh. The waitress dropped off a piece of white raspberry chocolate cheesecake. Feeling stupid, Lila sat down and quieted her voice. "Not a man nor woman has done such nice things for me. Said nice things. Just... be nice. And here you come along. Take me to nice hotel, pillow fight with me. I haven't done that since I was a little girl with my sister. This behavior being so rare, for me it's quite logical to lose my marbles. It's like you..really care about me or something."

"Do I have to put it on a flag and wave it about?" Bakura jested. Lila began to twiddle her thumbs like a child. Bakura once again grabbed her hand and took it tenderly in his. "Do you think we would have gotten this far if I didn't care about you?" Lila looked up at him, seeing real emotion in his eyes. "Ever since I saw you at the party, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. And when were in the back of my car, I knew I didn't want to end knowing you there. So please calm down and enjoy this piece of cake with me. Please?" Lila was touched. The smallest invitation to enjoy a little bit of cake had made her knees weak. His voice seemed to lull her into a peaceful state of mind. He picked a fork and cut off a small piece, Placing it at the end of the fork, he guided the piece to her quivering lips. She opened her mouth and ate the piece humbly. Her lips formed into a smile. She was trying to trust this nervous feeling. She kind of liked it.

(:::)

Though they were tired from running to the hotel, that didn't stop them from touching each other as soon as the door was slammed shut. No words were spoken during this exchange, everything that needed to be said was communicated with each touch. Serenity's tears had gone away, the only moisture on her face was sweat and rain. She had her arms around his neck tightly, her hands moving when they wanted up and down his hair. Their bodies were wet from the weather which only made it easier to peel of their clothing. With one single movement of his hand, he unzipped the dress she was wearing. She stepped out of it with quickly, as if she was releasing the shackles of three years from her torso. Immediately after being freed from the dress, she jumped up and encircled Seto's waist with her legs. Now the kisses grew more passionate. Their tongues dancing with each other in their mouths. A forbidden tango which was never to see the light of day. Seto took a moment to look at her, pulling her away for a second. Her white strapless lace bra with matching underwear. Her quivering lips and hungry eyes, begging for more. She looked like she could be an angel. His angel. Seto stopped glancing over her and began to kiss her again, wanting to feel the caress of her lips again before their time together was over. He reached behind her back and undid her bra and she had slipped out of her panties. Right before she loosened Seto's tie, she tossed her ring across the room. With their lips still connected, they rounded the corner, narrowly avoiding going into the bathroom. Seto effortlessly slipped out of his pants without breaking their lip lock as Serenity's hands worked quickly on the buttons on his shirt.

_I can't be doing this I shouldn't be doing this. I can't be doing this. _Serenity thought within the confines of her own mind. _When this is over, how am I going to look Marik in the eye? How am I suppose to say I was unfaithful? But why can't I stop?_

Soon, Serenity's back met with the bed. Everything Marik had bought her; the dress, the shoes, the ring, even the underwear. She was left there in her natural glow. Her wet hair clung to her body tightly. Seto stood over her and looked at her fully. His finger trailed the decorative 'S' tattooed right above her pantyline. Serenity couldn't help but blush. The first time Marik had seen her naked, she had told him that it was symbolic of her name. But in reality, it was a three year anniversary gift to Seto. It made him smile to see that she hadn't had it removed. It was as if she carried a piece of him right on her hip. He placed both of his hands on her hips and let his palms glide up her body, gradually pressing himself on her. He was so close to being reunited with her in the most sacred of ways. He grabbed both of her hands, happiness overwhelming him when her ring finger was once again naked. It was as if she was as if she was always his. Their lips met again, only not as wild and rough as before. They were sweet and gentle, soft yet more passionate than ever. Seto looked in her eyes for any sign of regret. Any sign telling him to go back and forget this encounter ever happened. Before he could find one trace, she lifted her head and pressed her forehead against his gently. "I'm a big girl, Seto." she panted, physically swept away by each touch. "I know what I want. And right now, I want you. I _need _you."

_She may belong to Marik any other moment of the day, _Seto thought to himself as his eyes closed as Serenity's lips grazed against his tenderly, _but for this one night, she's mine again. _Taking a moment, Seto adjusted himself as Serenity tugged at the sheets eagerly awaiting. Suddenly, she whipped her head towards the bed with wide eyes and arched her back. They were one.

(:::)

"Baby, I can't believe you're actually getting _married_ to her. That leaves us so little time now that you're gonna be planning and stuff." a female voice called from within the bathroom. Marik laid on the bed naked, going through his phone. "Unless you make her do it all! Ah ha! The solution to our problems. Then she'll be _so _busy we have _more _time together! Don't you like that, Marimar?" He gave a grunt in response while still flipping through his phone. She walked out the bathroom in a black silk nightgown, twirling proudly hoping to get his attention. Clearing her throat, stomping her feet and he didn't even peak. He still was looking intently on his phone. Irked, the woman reached for it only to be easily stumbled with Marik's slight movement to the side. She crawled onto him and looked at the screen. "Why do you keep looking through you text messages?"

"Because Serenity hasn't texted me back in about three hours." he said, his first full sentence since the night began. "Everytime I text her 'I love you', she usually texts me back 'I love you too' with that stupid heart symbol. But three hours and no response. I don't trust her with that Kaiba, not for a second."

The woman could only sigh. Noticing the nasty weather outside, she she got up for a moment to pull the curtains shut. It was odd to her because when she checked the report earlier, it was suppose to be a clear night. Shaking it off. She then jumped back on the bed and sat on her knees and took her forehead in her hand. "Why must you worry? Kaiba's with that British chick and Serenity wouldn't give anyone else the time of day, you know that. I find your worries to be completely unfounded." She tried to take his phone from his hand but met some resistance. With a more forceful yank, she successfully separated him from his phone and placed it on the nightstand. Her voice went from nice and fluffy to raspy and rough. "I paid for this wonderful night at this beautiful hotel with my sexy agent and you spend all the time worrying about her." she groaned, cupping his cheek and forcing him to look at her. "I'm suppose to be eating fancy Italian food with my friends but you wanted so desperately to see me. So I give you a night of love in the Dai-Ichi Hotel but you wanna dwell on her. I won't have it. This is my entire career on the line here. I won't have it screwed up for you."

"When you say career do you mean career or do you really mean marriage." Marik said without missing a beat. She let him go as her whole body seemed to droop. Marik smirked, knowing he hit a bulls-eye.

"I _do_ mean career." she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Her frightening demeanor disappeared. "I don't see how _he's _relevant." Her chin met her chest and her eyes darted wildly.

"Ah ha!" he said mockingly. He crossed his legs confidently and placed his hands in the back of his head. "So tell me. Does the mister know where you are right now?"

"Yes!" she nearly yelled, popping her head up and glaring at him. But then once again, her body seemed to fall in on itself. "I'm at my sick grandmother's home, trying to nurse her back to health..But I did it for you!"

"Such lies in a 'strong' marriage." Marik said, every word dripping of sarcasm.

She shoved him to the point where he nearly tipped off the bed. "So what if me and Bakura aren't the couple of the year but we damn sure are stronger than you and Serenity." she hissed. "If you guys were so amazing, you'd be in that damn engagement party."

Deep inside of him, anger was growing. She too had found his weak point. "Watch yourself, Téa. You're getting-"

"Dangerous?" she broke in. "You're the one saying how my marriage to Bakura is so horrible. Does Serenity know where you are?" Marik only coughed in response. Serenity was very unaware of his whereabouts. "Well let me tell you something, asshole. Me and Bakura were in love. A deep love. I guess between us rarely seeing each other because of our careers and me coming home smelling like your cologne made us break apart from each other. I know he cheats on me. I'm not blind. I can see the lipstick on his collars. I'm not exactly in a cathedral my damn self." Her whole disposition softened at the thought of her husband. Marik's eyes widened as she lamented. She noticed this and turned her back to him with a sigh. She gripped the edge of the bed, nearly tearing the fine linen to shreds. "So now he pretends not to know that my late nights have nothing to do with any tapings and I pretend to not to notice the hickeys on his neck."

"Then why stay together?" Marik questioned, his tone a little softer. The rage had passed as his curiosity peaked.

"We can't break up for the sake of both of our careers. Him being the right hand man to Kaiba and me being the golden girl on the silver screen. So we find our happiness elsewhere and only come together for the occasional dinner for tabloids sake." She scoffed at her last sentence. "Hell, the magazines don't even mention us as 'us' anymore. We're a very boring couple." Marik frowned.

"That would _never _be me and Serenity." he muttered, mostly to himself. But then the question came to him. Would that be him and Serenity? He turned his head to the window, contemplating the question. Boring was never a connotation Marik wanted to have for their relationship. Barely holding together because of blissful ignorance? Saying the fake 'I love you' before they leave to show their affection to a stranger? The thought of Serenity laying with another infuriated him. Yes, the women he has taken in their room still have underwear there but that was beside the point. Serenity was _his_ angel,_ his_ white light, _his_ fiancée. She was the one who he wanted to come home to. To have another ravage her was—

"But you're not boring." Téa looked over her shoulder with a wide grin. A smirk returned to Marik as she turned around and crawled toward him like a lioness, staring down her prey. She licked her lips ever so slowly. Lust glowed in her eyes. "You're exciting. You're sexy. You're.."

"Dangerous?" he said seductively. She straddled his hips with a smile and leaned in. His hands were on her like magnets were attached. All the feelings of regret disappeared under her soft red lips.

(:::)

Seto looked down at her naked glistening body at rest. Their legs were tangled together and her head rested on his bare chest. Two hours had since they first were together on the sheets. The phone calls had stopped coming an hour after that. They had made love. Long, passionate, forbidden love. For the first time in three years. It was like nothing had changed. No. Something did change. It was _better_. The void in his heart was filled for the moment. The void not even Lila and all her curves could fill. His hand cupped her cheek gently enough not to wake her. It was as if they were touching again for the first time. "It kind of hurts, Serenity." he whispered to her, knowing she couldn't respond. "We have this terrific night together and by tomorrow you go back to Marik and I go back to loneliness. I wanna believe that you'll realize what a cheating asshole Marik is and come back to me but my luck can't last forever. I know you're to kind of a girl to let a man suffer like that. I still have the break up letter you scratched out when I was in the hospital. One of the kindest things someone ever wrote for me. Even after that, you sent me flowers, get well cards and sorry notes nearly everyday I was hospitalized." He gave a small laugh. "I wanted to be mad and hate you but it's just impossible. Because at the end of the day, you broke it off with me because you though Joey would hurt me otherwise. Funny thing now is me and him are friends. I'm even going to his wedding. And you'll be going too. With Marik." Seto's hand left her cheek and went to her hand, holding in his. "But even then I'll remember this night as the night you threw your ring off for me. You let your inhibitions loose for one night with me. Serenity remained silent, still slumbering on his chest. "God, how I wish you knew about what happened between him and Lila and God knows who else. The thought makes my innards curl, Serenity. If you could see the real him and be with me and—"

Seto stopped himself because he felt the anger rise within his very soul and the volume in his voice was growing. He released a heavy sigh and brought his hand back to her face. "You know I was going to propose to you Serenity. Right in the West End theater, I was. But that accident prevented me from doing much of anything for a while, let alone getting down on one knee. You know sometimes, I wonder. What if I would have gotten the chance to show you that rock I bought you? What if my grand romantic gesture wasn't delayed? I was going to have the actors invite us on stage, just so we could say the lines from when we first met. You remember, don't you? And as I finished my line, I was going to have them play a harp, _I _was going to be the one on one knee. Not Marik. I don't know, I just think about that sometimes." Then Seto scoffed at himself. "Sometimes, that's a joke. That's all I think about. You. Everyday. Meetings, parties, dreams.. it's all you. It's always been you. Ever since that moment in Ms. Kiwa's class back in school. Ever since I met your beautiful eyes. It's just been..you." He planted a small kiss on her neck before unraveling his legs and hers.

Just as he began to slid away, Serenity, released a grunt. Seto looked down at her face. Her lips were pinched and her eyebrows were furrowed together. Seto only smiled, not resisting for a moment. He entangled their legs once again and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter. She snuggled under his chin. For one night, the boy who had woe was with the girl of his dreams.

_This bed could use a secret and these pounding hearts could keep it. If you could, I could, I swear...By tonight, the earth burst open. By tonight, we'll shed this clothing. By tonight, you'll see me from the angle that you missed._

* * *

**A/N: So it's been a long while since I last updated. I'm sooo sorry. But I LOVED the reviews from KhaoticKristy, Catalyna Cullen-the pocky really helps!-, Secluded Sapphire and Mirokusonlybabe. Love youse guys! **

**I feel like I'm going to redo this chapter, not changing the plot or anything but adding things here and there. I just wanted to get it out there so I can start the next part -which is already under construction!-**

**Reviews motivate me guys! Luvvers you all =]]**


	7. Most Beautiful Plague

**Most Beautiful Plague**

Sunlight. Bed. Sweat. Him.

All elements to Serenity's morning. He was still latched onto her hips, snuggled closely against her back. Though feeling quite comfortable, an impossibly ignorable twang of sadness hit her heart. She loved Seto. She loved Marik. Marik gave her a ring. Seto gave her satisfaction. As Seto's arms moved away from her, she couldn't tell if she was feeling rejoice or remorse. She heard him shuffle toward the bathroom. She sat up and hugged her knees, the sheets wrapped tightly around her body. She was lost. She could see the hurt in his eyes when he said Marik's name. They both knew their relationship had ended too short but what was there to do? Break Marik's heart? Marik became her best friend after Seto's accident. She slowly began to fall for him. The first time they were in bed together, she could only think of the its mediocrity, compared to another. But, in attempt to make him happy, she let out the necessary sounds. In retrospect, the thought was fairly depressing. But Seto was a complete different experience. Every thought was vocalized in pleasurable ways. The simple thought made her blush and bury her face in her knees. But her blush was merely evidence of a night that wasn't suppose to happen. The guilt faded in and out while the two were sleeping. "Good gracious, what have done?" Serenity held her forehead in her hand with a sigh.

She heard the bathroom door open as she bit her lower lip. To even look him in the eyes was painful with the guilt lining her stomach. "Serenity." he gently called, beckoning her attention. Absentmindedly, she turned her head and looked at him standing at the side of the bed, a towel hanging from his hips.

They simply looked at each other. Seto felt guilty as well. He had slept with another man's woman, though she was his first. That thought poked him in the back of the head. But it fell to the wayside he look into her eyes, seemingly glistening like gemstones against her porcelain face in its perfection. Breaking the silence, Seto asked the question that was on both of their minds; "What now?" Serenity didn't quite know. Part of her wanted to leave and another urging her to tackle him at that very moment. Serenity's rational thought began to function, causing her to roll off of the bed away from Kaiba and gather her things by the nightstand. Kaiba bit the inside of his cheek. If she left he'd be devastated. If she stayed, his guilt would continue to climb up his back.

Seto couldn't her shaking hands feel around for her dress which was under Seto's things. As she sifted, she stopped for a moment as she spotted a familiar crinkly piece of paper sticking out of his wallet. Instinctively, she pulled it out. At the top in blue letters, it read 'Domino's Medical Center'. She slowly stood, the paper in her hand. The scrawl was impossible to read., weather weary adding on to the notes original illegible script. "'I hate myself for hurting you. To stay by your side when I know you put me there is too much for me to take. I love you so much which makes this all the more painful.'" Seto recited. Serenity's head snapped towards him quickly and the back on the note. "'So if it means protecting you, I'll step away from you. Find love in someone who will rescue in time. Dash, heart, Serenity.' These three years, I've kept that in my back pocket. Memorized every line. Cried over it." He steadily walked around the bed toward her. She was frozen. That night. The smell of the hospital didn't seem to escape her. The blood that was gushing from his stomach. Simply imagining the metal against metal again flesh made her skin crawl. She noticed the scar across his torso, something she missed the previous night.

She dropped the paper on the ground, walking towards him with her hands in front of her. Her hand made contact with the mended skin. She shuddered as her fingertips ran across it. She opened her mouth and spoke. "I didn't want to stay with you if it meant-"

"Being without you almost killed me." he said coldly. He grabbed her forearms carefully, trying not to hurt her. "Serenity, I didn't care about _anything_ until I met you. Nothing mattered except Mokuba and the company. That's it, nothing else. And when I did meet you, I just knew I couldn't be without you." Serenity's eyes began to water but she couldn't move to wipe her eyes. "All I could think about when I was lying in that bed with that itchy gown was how I couldn't wait to see you when I woke up. When Mokuba put that not in my hands, I wanted to pull the plug myself."

"Seto, I-"

"I'm not asking you leave Marik. I'm asking, no begging you to stay with me for this one day. I'm moving to New York in two weeks to help maintain Kaiba Corp, USA. You'll never see me again." he pulled her in tightly, resting his head on hers. "I know simply being here with you now is much but to have one day with you would last me a lifetime." She nodded in his arms as she sobbed softly. He whispered small words of gratitude as he held her closer.

(:::)

Lila was snuggled under his chin happily, still fully clothed in what they wore to the restaurant. Countless hours had passed since the two reentered the room but nothing steamy transpired. Lila actually was fairly comfortable with simply laying with Bakura, the emotional connection much more worthwhile than the one of physical proportions. They were both under the covers with empty plates on the nightstand. The storm that seemed to come out of nowhere had now passed and they were laying there in the room, the only illumination being the television. It was some cheesy game show designed to torture its contestants. Bakura had put it on mute, finding Lila much more entertaining. Even the enthusiastic couple on the floor below them had not phased them. They had spent time talking about Bakura's stint in London, Lila's childhood, Bakura's job as Kaiba's right hand man and Lila's love for cooking. "So you came here to Domino for..?" Bakura asked, a wide smile on his face. She pulled away from his neck and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Come on! You come all the way from England to Domino of all places? There's got to be some ulterior motives there, love." She rolled her eyes and tried to retreat back to his neck only to be stopped by sole finger. "Come on, now. Out with it."

She gave a playful pout. "But you'll laugh at me." she whined. Bakura shook his head, indicating that he wouldn't. "For some reason, I don't believe you!" She poked his nose, causing him to laugh. "See? You laugh at that, you'll laugh at me.." Bakura shot her pitiful eyes, begging for an tried to keep firm but when he looked at her, her stomach fluttered. She made one last attempt. "It's a _really _long story." Bakura simply shrug his shoulders. Rolling her eyes, she knew she would give in. "Well, I came out here for an acting gig. Kinda fell through though. But-"

"An actor?" Bakura said moderately low. Lila didn't seem to notice the change in tone. Every section of his face seemed to droop.

She kept going brightly. "Yeah, I do mostly stage but-"

"You should go." he said in a deathly whisper. The coldness in his tone had reached Lila's spine. "I'll call you later after I get my forty winks. Promise." Bakura moved, creating a cold spot next to Lila. Lila was in shock. They were so close only moments ago. He got off of the bed and grabbed her purse and stood by the door, patiently waiting for her to make her exit. Lila fought the initial feeling of disappointment with a feigned smile.

"No need for that, love." she said brightly, tumbling out of bed. She grabbed her footwear and sauntered to the door. She looked into his eyes for a moment before she reached for the doorknob. She could tell his eyes were full of regret but her own angry emotions prevented her to feel pity. "I've got things to do myself. No need to concern yourself with me." She roughly snatched her bag away from him. With her nose in the air, she walked out.

Bakura quietly shut the door, pressing himself against it when it shut. He slid down the ground with a small scoff. "I can't seem to help myself," he begun jokingly, "when it comes to these actresses.."

(:::)

The bumping sounds greatly agitated Téa as she tried to sleep. She was comfortable in her Hello Kitty pajamas and matching socks. After an hour of passion with Marik, she was prepared to get some rest before her flight to Tokyo for a role in the next couple hours. But the people above her didn't agree with her schedule. "Again! Again they're at it!" she cried to Marik, pounding her fists against the bed. Marik was in the shower so she was all alone to deal with the highly energetic couple above them. She had called and complained but since it was a 'premium customer', there was nothing that could have been done. They suggested she put a pillow over her head. This greatly irked her that someone in the hotel was more high profile than her. She hated to take second place in anything, especially when it came to Marik. Though Serenity had been her friend for awhile, it killed her that Marik always went home to her after being with her. Now she was upset over Mr. and Mrs. Humpsalot (the creative name Marik had given them the previous night) and her bittersweet relationship. "I love him so much more than she ever will and yet he's **marrying **her. It doesn't make sense to me." she muttered somberly to herself.

"You married Bakura, don't send me on a guilt trip." Marik said aloud, causing her to yelp. She turned around to see Marik, water droplets from his hair falling to the floor as he firmly wrapped the towel around his waist. She smiled sat up. Marik's corners didn't even turn upward. It was the coldest stare she had ever seen from him. She looked in his eyes for some form of happiness but was left unsatisfied. It even made her smile disappear. "This is not love. This is two coworkers having sex. You have Bakura, I have Serenity. I _love _her. I won't let you jeopardize my engagement." Téa looked away from him, trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "I'm still your agent, you're still my client. And as your agent, I suggest this interoffice affair end now."

"NO!" Téa shrieked, running towards him and getting on her knees. Her arms encircled his waist and her head rested on his stomach as she sobbed, "I'll stop it! I won't say those three words anymore, I promise! And if I stop saying that, will you still meet with me like this?" She looked up at him, only to see the same cold, menacing stare.

"As your agent, I suggest you reestablish your relationship with Bakura. The media vultures will eat that up." Marik said coolly, trying to peel her off of him. "Especially with the new movie release, it'll definit-"

"And what about as the guy I'm **_fucking_**!" she exclaimed, struggling to stand on her own two feet. The incessant bumping above her no longer annoyed her. It all disappeared under that anger towards Marik. She shoved him into a wall hard, making him slide to the ground in pain afterward. She walked towards him slowly, gnawing at her mouth as she came up with words to say. "You wanna be big and tall and _hypocritical _when you're Agent Ishtar! But when the you're rolling around with me, like you have been for nearly a whole damn _year_, those just go away, huh?"

He easily brushed off the act of violence. Marik's face was like stone. "I love Serenity." he said lowly. "I don't thi-"

"Did you love her when you were calling _my_ name?" she cried, shoving him again. He still stood coldly. She fell to her knees once more, pounding on his stomach. "Huh, Marik? Cause I'm pretty sure my name is _Téa_!" Her tears accumulated with every word she spoke. "The whole damn floor knows because when I was riding you for an hour, you kept screaming it! Not Seren-"

Suddenly, a firm grasp went around Téa's small neck. She was gasping for air as she felt herself being risen from the ground in a painfully slow manner. It took her a moment to realize it was Marik's hand crushing her throat. Her eyes soon met with his, no pity in them as she coughed and choked. She clawed at his arm, hoping he would let go only to find out with every scratch, his hand grew tight around her neck. Soon she found her feet were dangling above the ground as she was caught in Marik's glare. He slammed her body against the wall mercilessly. "Don't. Say. Her. Name." he growled, watching her eyes glaze over with delight in his heart. As she flailed around, her skin began to pale and her eyes seemed to bulge. His lip quivered from excitement. He began to pull tighter, her pleas pleasurable to his ears, her squeal shooting sparks over her entire body. Soon, his lips crashed against hers even as he held her life in his hand. The sound of her begging for breath under his lips was euphoric for him. Though struggling to breath, she complied to his kiss as much as she could. As Téa tried, it only put her in more pain; just how Marik liked it.

(:::)

Lila walked down the hallway with a sigh. Her feet dragged along the carpet. After leaving Bakura in such a manner, she was now feeling down. _What did I say? _she wondered, strolling down through the hotel. Very sad and without a ride, she simply walked around the hotel (she was now on the 12th floor). From what she could tell, it was now morning and she hadn't had much sleep due to her nightlong conversation with Bakura. _Even though he's the one that ticked me off good, I feel like a duffer._ Lila could only sigh. He seemed like such a nice guy. She wanted him to call her but was afraid he had taken what she said to heart. Suddenly, in mid-stride, it hit her. "I'll phone Seto! He'd help me.." she blurted, immediately digging for her cell phone. She felt absolutely brilliant, even contemplating why she hadn't thought of it before. As soon as the phone was in her hands she went to her contacts and called him. She stood in the middle hall, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Very disappointed, she dialed again. She _had _to contact Bakura again and apologize for whatever she did.

"Ugh, it's Lila. I'll call her later." she heard faintly. She couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow. Lila knew that tone all to well. She turned to her right to see Seto Kaiba exiting a room, a woman with a white dress on his arm. They both looked rather disheveled. The glow around them was all too familiar. Her jaw dropped as her phone slid out of her hand and onto the floor. Lila knew Seto was a man of ritual. He wouldn't have bedded a new woman after her after at least eleven more months. Like a brick on her head, it hit her. She knew that dress. A grin soon painted across her face. The two were turning toward her and she simply stood there as Seto ignored her call. "This woman won't let-"

In unison, the two stopped in their tracks. They looked even worse from the front. Her bow that was supposed to be around her waist rested on her right arm. Seto's tie was poorly done. "Look at you blokes." she giggled, dancing around the frozen pair like a child around a maypole. "Looking fairly dodgy here, you know. Seto, the cold and lonely CEO of one of the largest companies in the world. Serenity, the sweet girl next door engaged to the arsehole down the street. Both of them prancin' out of a hotel room together arm in arm." With one arm, Seto stopped Lila's movements as she passed in front of them. He took her by the wrist and dragged her toward the elevator. Serenity followed as Lila cackled into the air. Lila's sudden appearance made Seto nervous. Whether the media got hold of him and Serenity's night together was no problem. He could handle the vultures. Lila, a carefree foreigner who knows them and their friends personally, could cause problems.

(:::)

A strangely calm phone call from Mai had brought Marik to the Juty Café in the middle of the afternoon. He sat there looking uncharacteristically casual, only wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. He was waiting for Mai to return with a water and coffee which she strangely offered to pay for. Everything about this encounter was queer. The last time Marik and Mai had a conversation was when he left her crying on the floor, damning him for leaving her in such a broken state but this time was...different. She returned with his water and her coffee. She was wearing a short pink skirt and a white halter top. She crossed her legs and smiled at him confidently. Marik reached for his water, seemingly inspecting it as he pulled it closer to him. "I didn't spit in it if that's what you're thinking." Mai scoffed with a grin. "We're adults, for goodness sake." Marik looked up at her for a moment with an eyebrow raised.

"Then why'd you call me here?" he questioned, more calm than Mai had expected. This still didn't shake her.

Mai looked down at her coffee for a second, stirring the contents. She looked up at him, looking dead in his eyes. "You can't have me anymore." she avowed, her hands going into her lap. Marik scoffed. Before he could muster up words, she continued. "Don't give me the bull. Every single time you look at me, it's like you're taunting me. Holding the knowledge of our history above my head, don't try to lie." Marik couldn't deny anything. What she said was true. "You can't have me under your thumb anymore, Ishtar."

Marik could only smirk. He drug his chair around the table and next to her. Mai didn't even flinch. "I'll have you where I like, _Valentine_." he mocked, placing an idle hand on her leg. "You'll always think of me when you're under of that oaf. That's what you always told me. Plus, you don't want that same oaf to know the reality about the night he ran into Seto's car with his leaving him in a hospital bed. All that drama because you wanted to keep a secret. You'll just seem like a lying bitch." he whispered into Mai's ear smoothly. "Do you wanna-"

"I told him." Mai said, turning to him with a smirk of her own. Marik immediately removed his hand. The feeling of power over her had vanished. He actually quite felt small. She had shrunk him down with a mere sentence. "I told him after the engagement party you bailed. It hurt not to be able to tell him but dammit did it feel good when I did. Years of leaving ambiguity around who it was, it tore me up inside. I just let him think it was Seto, who he eventually forgave." Mai's face fell for a moment but came back up fairly quickly. "But I have doubts he'll forgive you. You, the slimy bug who worked himself into my life just to see the shattered pieces you left behind. _You _who brought in the worse in me. The only reason Joey didn't stomp you into the ground is because I told him not to. But don't tempt me. If I see you close to my sister ever again, I'll wake the lion up and _you'll _be the one in the hospital bed."

Marik flinched a little. His angel of purity, his everlasting love, his Serenity, about to be ripped from his hands. In his mind, he could see the evil hands of Mai, plucking away from her side. Out of impulse, he grabbed Mai's wrist tightly. His voice grew low, lower than Mai had ever known. She was taken aback, but she was far from scared. "I love her. You can't take her away from me." he said, his voice trembling. He sounded as if he was caught in-between lashing out or crying. "She keeps me sane, grounded and-" She swiftly snatched her wrist away while he was in mid-sentence and proceeded to slap him across the face.

"I know who you're fucking!" she shouted, interrupting what she thought was the next lie to come from his mouth. All spectators turned towards them, slight gasps abound. Marik's eyes widened. His careful steps, his meticulous planning, all for naught. "Stay away from my baby sister or I'll drag your bullshit into the light!" Marik's arms dropped down, swinging helplessly. "Oh Marik? The term is _free_ bitch, baby." Mai quipped before innocently tipping the coffee over into his lap.

(:::)

"So you guys kissed in the pourin' rain and made elegant love!" Lila squeaked. Seto and Serenity nodded, their faces probably retaining some redness. The three sat in the bar, Geisha House. Seto chose this place because it was more or less a best kept secret. Taking advantage of the comfort of not getting caught, Serenity held Seto's hand under the table. Lila wiped her eyes watering eyes. "Oh God, the faucet's leaking. That's the most romantic story I ever heard. They should put your tale on the tele! So are you two gonna run off and elope? Oh! If you do I'm tagging along!" Serenity leaned her head against his shoulder with a twinge of sadness on her face. Seto turned his head away from the table. Lila, who was caught up in the story, soon remembered her engagement to Marik. "Sorry.." she muttered. "But, what _are _you gonna do?"

"We _were _gonna spend the day together since Marik's God knows where." Seto hissed. Serenity failed to notice the malice in his voice whereas Lila felt the hatred. She only stuck her tongue out at him in response. "But a certain Brit had other plans." Lila had '_encouraged_' Seto to invite Bakura for a drink so the two could reconnect. Serenity smiled at her warmly

"I hope this works out for you, Lila. You never want to le-" A roar from behind them cut her sentence in half. They hadn't noticed the crowd gathering around the bar, bottles of alcohol rising and falling above their heads.

"One shot! Two shots! Soon we'll be down to NO SHOTS!" a strongly accented voice sung above the crowds before they roared once again. Lila stood up sharply. Serenity and Seto stared at her curiously.

"One, two, three more! You'll be stumblin' on the floor!" she finished in a singsong tone. "Dash of vodka, splash of gin.."

"The sun will hurt your eyes again!" they said in unison. As if it were the parting of the red sea, the crowd separated. There was a short girl, juggling three bottles of alcohol. She had reddish brown layered hair that caressed her shoulders. Her blue eyes grew wide as she systematically put her bottles down on the counter.

Seto's eyes darted between the two of them. The jaw line, the nose, the accent. He swallowed hard. Serenity looked up at him in curiosity. "There's two of them." he said, astonished that the world's most unlikely of events had to happen to him. He was aware of Lila's sister, Karine, but she was suppose to be in London in college. Lila vividly described her as a younger version of her, making the experience more horrifying. The young girl behind the counter jumped over it majestically and ran into Lila's arms. She wrapped her arms around her bargoers resumed to drink, waiting for the next show.

"Duke, love! You gotta come out here and meet my sister!" the girl shouted. Serenity immediately let go of Seto's hand and rushed beside Lila. Seto knew she had a distinct fear that it was in fact Duke Devlin, who gossiped more than a housewife. Serenity figured it would be better to be there next to her rather to be discovered later. Seto was fine with it, especially if it meant he got to keep his distance from the sisters. He slipped to the bathroom while they were distracted.

Sure enough, it was Duke. Serenity's precautions were not in vain. His arm snaked around Karine's as she let Lila go. "Duke! This is me sister, Lila!"

"The crazy one?" Duke had said cautiously in case he was right.

"No, not Kendra." she assured. "Kendra's the crazy. Lila's the all rounder." She twirled her index finger in a circle to add emphasis to Lila's bisexuality, which she didn't feel offended by. Duke gave a nod of understanding. Finally, Duke noticed Serenity beside Lila. He quickly moved to her and gave her a small hug.

"I was just about to call you!" he exclaimed. "I need you to meet my fiancee, Karine." Serenity gave Karine a firm handshake, along with formal pleasantries. Lila's jaw dropped, nearly scathing the floor.

"Fiancee? You've been in town long enough to get engaged but you can't ring up your sister! You knew I was in Domino, you cheeky monkey!" Lila pouted.

"We've only been engaged for a couple of hours. I dropped in last night when we fell in love." Duke assumed his original position at Karine's side, holding her by the waist. "There wasn't time to call you, love. I went to the hotel, came to the bar and met this amazing fella right before your eyes. Isn't Cupid a lovely little bugger?" Karine giggled. Serenity let out laugh with the small group as her phone vibrated violently in her pocket. She tapped Lila on the shoulder and pointed at her phone to indicate her leaving. Lila nodded and smiled. She crept away from the crowd next to the bathrooms.

Without even glancing at the caller ID, she answered. "Hello?" she said sweetly. She heard heavy breathing on the other line. She was kinda befuddled, quickly pulling the phone from her ear. The ID read unknown. "Hello?"

"_We need to get out_." a gruff voice spoke. She was barely able to identify him as Marik. "_Meet me at the house in an hour_." Serenity looked at the time on the clock above the restroom. It wasn't even seven yet. Seto hadn't had his full day. But she could tell Marik had his ultimatum tone right before he hung up. At that very moment, Seto stepped out of the restroom. She bit her lip in contemplation; stay and defy Marik or go and break Seto apart?

(:::)

Téa stood in front of mirror quietly, applying make up to her neck. She had asked Marik to book her a later flight so she could get some rest. She watched him leave when he was finished with her with tears in her eyes and bruises over her body. It wasn't the first time. She was sure it wasn't the last time. She pretended to enjoy it so he would stay with her but it made her feel disgusting. Sure, a little foreplay here and there but he really hurt her. One time, he broke her pinkie before another violent session in the bed. Of course, afterward he would nag her to death about not being careful while in the role of an agent. She scoffed as she finished with her neck. She put on the wig she wore out in order to avoid paparazzi. She glanced over at the stick on the bathroom counter and glanced at her watch. It was time.

She picked it up while looking up at the ceiling with her eyes shut tight, muttering prayers under her breathe. She looked down at the stick, examining it for a moment before dropping it and running her back into the wall. She placed a hand over her stomach and immediately began to sob. "Two lines." she sputtered, glaring at herself in the mirror. "Two..lines." It was the fourth one to provided an unwanted answer. A pink plus sign, a blue line and one obviously saying yes. She ran out into the bedroom and angrily picked up the lamp and threw it at the flat screen television. "**_TWO FUCKING LINES!_**" she screamed, continuing to smash other this in the room with her feet and fists. The bust by the bed, the bathroom door, smashing the coffee table, there was nothing too sacred. "Not now! Why now!" Once she threw the ashtray into the headboard, she dropped to the ground, holding her stomach tightly with her right arm, her left keeping her stable even though she was two steps away from jumping out of the window.

_It's funny, how crazy you make me feel sometimes. I'm so broken, I can barely even rhyme._

* * *

**A/N: It's shorter than I would like but malfunctions known as MOTHER prevented me from getting it out as speedily as I wanted it to. **

**And as always, shout outs to my peeps KhaoticKristy, pink-strawberries, Secluded Sapphire and Catalyna Cullen. Thanks for waiting, loves!**

**Oh! Special cameo by Khaotic Kristy, or should I say Karine? I knew she wanted to bang Duke, so I let her be his Brit girlfriend^^**


	8. Preview! Indulgence

**A/N: Hey guys, this is ya' buddy Neko Catalyst. This is a preview of my new SetoxSerenity fic, Indulgence. Sorry to trick you and make you think this is a new chapter ^^". Also, BAFI is COMPLETELY unrelated to this story of sadness and depressingness. I just didn't feel like making a new story among other things. Warning right now guys. This fic is DARKER than BAFI (haha bafi). Like rape, character death, all that juicy good stuff. So I'm tell you, might wanna turn on the lights when you read this. **

**Indulgence: Preview**

_"When life gives you sin, you've got to indulge sometimes."_

_The woman was already nude, her long brown hair sprawled over her back. Her dress was on the floor beside her bed along with his tie, her stockings and his jacket. She was nibbling at his neck seductively as she tried not to vomit from the smell of his overpriced cologne and the booze on his breath. Her slender fingers moved like spiders, unbuttoning his buttons quickly in order to have the end of the evening come fairly quickly. Once his shirt had joined the other garments on the floor, the woman began to plant kisses on his flabby and hairy chest, trying to ignore the bristle feeling against her cheeks. _**_Think of the money_**_. she thought over and over in her mind. _**_Think of the children_**_. She looked up at him and feigned a smile as she began to unbutton his pants. He smirked as he felt his pants slip past his ankles, leaving him in his underwear. She placed a hand over his crotch and let out a small coo, even though she'd rather wince. "Oh baby. You're so ready for me, aren't you?" He nodded idiotically, panting like he was a dog. "Mhm baby, you look like you might be too big for me. You still want me to try?" He nodded yet again like a dog. She took a hard gulp before she pulled down his briefs before immediately closing her eyes. She turned her back towards him and spread her legs over his waiting member. She teased him for a moment with his hands hoping that action would shorten their time together._

_He roughly took ahold of her hips. A guttural moan came from him which caused the woman to shiver. "I pay you to fuck me, not tempt me." he growled before slamming her down on his length. She let a small squeal from shock. Most clients weren't so rough. She gripped the edge of the bed and let out words of compliance. She cursed internally herself for accepting him, of all people. And to bring him home was another horrible idea. She avoided high profile men. Especially the one that shut down the building she worked in, mocked her personally as he strolled through the building before announcing his takeover and he' as they stood there and watched their mother get downsized. The loss of that job caused her to look at more unconventional methods of earning money. And now she was on top of the man caused it all. He probably didn't even recognize her but she could tell who he was; Gozaburo Kaiba, reaper of souls belonging to the middle and lower classes. But with the amount of money he offered, all she could do was bounce up and down and fabricate moans of pleasure._

**_Joey, Serenity_**_. she thought fiercely in her mind every time she questioned why she was there. Gozaburo roughly sat up on his knees without ever exiting her and started to ram her from behind. She quietly rejoiced the change of pace since the new position left her with less work today. She heard the door creak open. She opened her eyes in fear. It was two in the morning, not even an earthquake would wake Joey and Serenity on a normal basis. She turned her head to the door only to have her horrors realized. There Joey stood in his Astro Boy pajamas, watching his mother getting stroked by a man he's seen on television, magazines and in person as he called him a mutt and his mother and sister whores. The woman knew her son well enough. This was not going to end positively._**_Joey, please don't attack him. Honey please just walk away and-_**

_"Get offa my ma', ya' asshole!" the thirteen year old shouted as ran and tackled Gozaburo, causing him to fall on the other side of the bed. Her grip was so tight she was hardly affected. "Stupid, pompous, _**_JACKASS_**_!" Joey exclaimed as her mulled the older man with punches. Though he was feisty the size difference between them was a __large factor. Gozaburo flung Joey off of him, making him slam against the wall. This caused the woman to snap as well._

_"Get out of my house, Kaiba! You don't come in here and throw my son around!" she yelled. She wrapped the sheets off of her bed and wrapped them around herself and stood promptly on her feet. Gozaburo got up and chuckled malevolently. He looked her dead in the eyes as he sauntered over to Joey, who was still on the ground._

_"Remember, _**_bitch_**_." he said with much emphasis on the derogatory term. "I paid you to make me cum." He foot connected with Joey's chest strongly. Joey bit his lip, refusing to give him the satisfaction of his cries of pain. The woman took in a sharp inhale. "So until you do, I can pretty much do whatever the _**_fuck _**_I want!" Upon finishing the sentence, Gozaburo kept kicking Joey in the exact same spot over and over again. "Hell, I won't stop until your bastard child _**_BLEEDS_**_!" After seeing her son take several more kicks, she ran over and hopped onto his back and began to pound away at his his head._

_"Leave my kid the fuck alone!" she shouted before she began to press her fingers into his eyeballs. His mother's attack gave Joey a chance to catch his breath. Gozaburo, running around the room blind and confused, eventually found a wall. He began to slam the woman repeatedly against it, successfully shaking her off._

_As she drifted to ground dazed, Gozaburo picked Joey up from off the ground with one hand and picked up his belt with the other. He tied up Joey by his hands and attached him to the bed's poster. He laughed manically. "Let me show you how a real man does it, mutt." he grinned, getting on his knees. He dragged the nearly unconscious body of his mother to him. He propped her up on her knees and stroked himself to get hard. Joey turned and looked away, only to feel a harsh slap across his face. "I said look!" Gozaburostroked the woman's entrance with his thumb. He looked at Joey and gave a laugh. "Bitch is wetter than a cat in heat. Your pitiful mother was born to do this." Joey looked away again only to feel the same hand on his face. Joey barely had the energy to move his head now but his eyes seemed to be stapled open as he watched his mother get violated by the man who, seemingly intentional, ruined her life. He kept trying to look away but Gozaburo continued to slap him, even as he thrusted the woman. He laughed manically as she let out small cries of pain, barely audible under the the deafening cackle of Gozaburo. _

_Before his brainwaves shut down, he said a prayer in his mind. _**_Please, Lord. Can ya' hear me? Don't let ma' baby sister see this. Grant her sleep. Give her peaceful dreams where she ain't here. Let her dance wit' her prince at her ball while she sleeps. Don't let her see this. _**

_Sure enough, Serenity slumbered as the others worlds were turned upside down._

_

* * *

_

**Six years later**

**

* * *

**

Serenity walked the halls happily, hugging her books to her chest. It was the day she longed for the most; the first day of school. She had made sure that her blue knee high socks were perfectly. She had double checked her matching pleated skirt and triple checked her white top. The new uniforms had made her so happy because she didn't have to wear the pink and blue atrocity from the previous year. She had craved the new school year for other reasons besides the uniform change. This year, a whole slew of advanced classes had opened up for her to take. She loved the challenge she received from the classes, not to mentioned they looked amazing on her transcript. Her brother and her friends had already ventured to their own afternoon classes as she struggled to find hers. Luckily, she still had a few minutes to find out. She hummed a small sang to herself as she gleefully bounced on her heels. "_When will you say yes to me? Tell me quando, quando, quando._" she sung practically danced by herself down the empty corridor, spinning and swaying her hips lazily. She knew she looked quite stupid boxstepping by herself but her smile was one that could not be crushed. "_You mean happiness to me. Oh my love, please tell me wh-_"

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice beyond the archway. "Y'know you're a real asshole. Ya hear me, asshole!? A REAL asshole!" the voice growled, followed by slam. Recognizing the voice as her brother, she raced around the bend to see what was going on. Upon arriving at the scene, she saw a heated Joey standing in front of a stoic figure. He was taller than Joey by a bit and had perfectly cut brown hair. His head turned toward Serenity. He looked dead in her forest green eyes, piercing them with his icy blue orbs. She didn't understand why it happened, but she immediately fell to her knees, dropping her books all around her. She had never seen the infamous Seto Kaiba in person until that very moment. Joey had warned her about the entire Kaiba family, forbidding her to even talk to Mokuba, who was one of her classmates since grade school. The moment he had looked at her, her knees just turned into gelatin. Joey quickly ran over to his fallen sibling. "Serenity! Wha' did you do ta' her, you bastard!" he shouted, getting on his knees and began to gather up her books. Serenity wished to know the same thing.

"I hurt her while you begging for a treat. What the hell do you mean what did I do?" Kaiba spat sarcastically. It sent a shiver down Serenity's back. His voice was even colder than his stare. She looked down at the ground, a look of confusion etched onto her face. Seto gave a devilish smirk. "Then again I might. Look up at her skirt and then we'll know the answer." Serenity blushed soon after the commpent was spoken.

Joey got back up on his feet. If Serenity wasn't on the ground next to him holding his ankle, he wouldn't be responsible for what happened next. "Leave ma' sista outta dis! Take that back!"

"Ooh, such as strong response from a mutt." Seto taunted, still leaning cooly against the lockers. "Honestly, I know you're dumb but do you have to be that dumb? Now your sister. She looks she has a lightbulb going off in her brain. And something even more interesting under the hood."

Joey was now even angrier than he was mere moments ago. He knew Seto was attacking his sister in such away to aggravate Joey and his method proved to be very successful. "Why I outta pu-"

"Joey let him go." Serenity murmured where only Joey could hear her. Joey quickly turned around in disbelief. There was nothing more in the world but to sock Kaiba in his jaw. As if he heard the comment, Seto laughed as Serenity's face grew into a darker red. Serenity knew that Joey's grades would plummet if he got kicked out of school the first day. Their mother would be completely disappointed. Joey realized this and seemed to sink into himself. He went to the ground and finished helping his sister.

"That's right, listen to the smart one." Seto scoffed before he walked away, disappearing down the hallway.

After organizing the books in a pile, Joey turned around and shook his fist at Seto. "This ain't ova, Kaiba! Not even close!" he then stood up and turned back around to his sister. He extended a helping hand. "C'mon, Ren. You got your skirt all dirty." Upon hearing that, she sprung to life, wiping of her skirt when she landed on her feet. Joey could only laugh happily upon seeing that Serenity was fine. He picked up her heavy load of books and smiled at her. Her schedule was on top of her chemistry book. "'Kay, Mrs. Clean. I'll walk you to your class. Advanced Placement European History? Geez, Serenity. Don't break ya' tongue sayin' that one! An' wit' Ms. Meyai? Had that woman last year. Definitely not the class for me!"

"You don't have to be in it, just show me where it is!" Serenity pouted playfully, linking her arms with Joey's. Joey's speech had gotten better, though he slipped back into his Brooklyn dialect from time to time which was forgivable. He guided down the hall, almost regally. As the glided down the hallway in silence, she spoke up and glanced at her brother. "Why do you hate Seto so much, Joe?"

Joey gritted his teeth as soon as Seto's name left Serenity's lips. Serenity noticed this and looked away. "He's evil, Serenity." Joey said darkly. "He's thinks that everybody is nothin' but a doormat. He don't give two shits about you or me. Got it?" Serenity nodded, though she still didn't quite understand.

=*=

He strummed his fingers on the desk, waiting for the class to start. _Serenity. _he thought in his mind. _Wheeler, I can only assume. An awful disgusting name in terms of her, to say the least. There's no way Beauty came out of the same womb as the beast. Probably half siblings or something like that. I was anticipating her timidness but to be so cute..I was blindsided. _He cradled his head in the palm of his hand, still thinking of the younger Wheeler. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nature of the thoughts. _I still think this is beneath me. But what the hell? It should benefit me in the end, right? _Soon, the hall's echo projected the voices into his earshot.He quickly checked his watch. _Right on time. One and a half early, actually. Punctuality, Ms. Wheeler. That is key. _

"And I! Joseph Wheeler was victorious! Amazin' right?" he heard the mutt boast. He rolled his eyes.

_He would be the one to ruin things. Oh well. When plan A fails, you've got twenty five other letters to choose from. _

The pair of walked into the room with smiles abound only to have them fade in the wake of Seto Kaiba. Seto could only smirk. Joey dropped all of Serenity's books on the ground in shock. By the looks of it, he was certain she would fall if not for her brother. "And so we met again, Ms. Wheeler." Seto chided. He looked into Serenity's eyes once again.

_This is going to be easier than I thought. _Joey growled as if he was about to chomp on Seto's neck. His eyes were aflame with a sign that said 'Don't Even Be In My Sister's Presence'. But this factor only made Seto more ready to initiate his plan.

* * *

**A/N: That was a fairly raw version of the first chapter of _Indulgence. _VERY raw. Much editing to be done. But to let you guys know, that chapters of this story will be smaller that BAFI so that means they'll be out quicker. Where as I have accidently set a 6,000 word limit for BAFI. So it's up to you guys. I could do _Indulgence _now at the same time as BAFI or wait till BAFI is over (which is reaching it's climax!) to release it. I'm working on both right now but I'm just speaking in terms of when it's hitting the web. Hope you enjoyed this!**


	9. I Want To Know Your Plans

**I Want To Know Your Plans**

_**THE VICE: Blurb of the Hour**_

_Young Starlet pregnant? - by Yuki Shioda_

_Upon her arrival in Hiroshima to the set of her new film last week, the twenty three year old Téa Gardner was reported to be vomiting profusely. Her assistant was also recorded addressing many of Gardner's demand for staff to satisfy many strange cravings. This was strange to the star being well known in the industry as an agreeable actor on set. Also, as reporters have expressed, her weight has underwent an increase in the last three months! Some have speculated that it is a result of her overeating due to stress from her marriage while other believe it is a baby bump, showing the defrost between her and Ryo Bakura, the hotshot businessman. Everyone has been trying to get a response to these claims but everyone at the Gardner camp is either M.I.A. or refusing to respond. Remember to always check **The Vice **for your hourly dose of entertainment news!_

_Timestamp: 03:56:17_

Joey sat in the seat, staring outside of the window at the sky as Mai fumed beside him. The illumination of the moon was the only light in the plane. His stomach was uneasy as it always was when he took his medication. He rattled the orange bottle as if he were a toddler eager to make noise. "That sounds stupid as hell. 'We can't tell her'!" Mai screeched. They had been arguing for hours, even before they got on the plane. Now the yelling was fairly one-sided. "He's a dickweed that dragged her off to fucking Hiroshima. Hiroshima! _With_ the woman he's cheating on her with! AND the other woman is _pregnant!_ Come on, Joey. It's your sister. _Our _sister. We can't watch this shit explode in her face!" Even though Mai was screeching in front of them, the Kaiba brothers had managed to get some sleep. Joey felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He whipped it out like him and Mai weren't even having a conversation. It was a text message from Serenity.

_Loving Hiroshima! Me and Marik is getting married here in SIX weeks the movie wraps up! =]__ Short engagement, I know but the hotel is letting us use the garden since the shooting is ending earlier than they thought! Sooner the better, right? sending tickets NOW! Bring the picture of Mom and Dad pleeeeeease! can't wait to see your face when I walk down the aisle!  
I luv youuuuuuuu! Serenity:)  
_

Joey could only sigh. Mai huffed and leaned in, reading the text to herself. Her angry scowl transformed into a saddened frown. "'Member when you told me you cheated on me?" Mai nodded. A cold shiver trailed her back just thinking of it. She wasn't proud of that night. Sometimes she felt as if she could still feel herself being slammed against the wall gazing upon Joey's face, mangled with anger. "Disregardin' this head problem I got, I had the heart of a lion. It broke like glass when ya told me that, Mai." Another icy shiver took hold of her back. "Now me an' her are from the same tree only she's a lot more sensitive than me. It took her a full year of cryin' and sobbin' 'fore she moved on from Seto. And as much as I hate to say, that prick wrapped in Armani saved her when she was headin' towards rock bottom." Mai sighed and nuzzled into Joey's shoulder. She tried to talk but Joey interrupted her. "Apology accepted." Mai smiled before she pecked him on the cheek and went to the bathroom.

"Are you two done? I don't think I can drink anymore NyQuil." Seto complained as he began to stretch.

Joey scoffed. "Yea', we're done." Seto rubbed his temples. The stress of the recent days was too much for him to bear. He simply had to relish the face that soon he would be able to restart his life in New York. "Why you comin' here anyway, Kaiba? I thought you were headin' to New York."

"Some boring meeting." Seto sighed, opening his laptop. "Besides, I'll be able to elect someone to run Kaiba Corp Domino Division while I'm in New York. It's Mokuba but they want it to be some huge spectacle. Corporate assholes." His voices dwindled down into a harsh whisper as he glanced at his IM window. More unanswered messages from Serenity. He gritted his teeth and then glanced at an album sitting on his desktop. It was entitled 'Memories'. This was new. The last person to use his laptop was...Serenity. He immediately clicked on it. It wasn't more than the time it took him to shower but when he looked in, the pictures were extensive. Some were images that had been lost in the crevices on the laptop since they started dating but most were new images. Still old in terms when they were taken but new to him. _She must have downloaded from some storage site_. Seto concluded. He checked the internet and sure enough, Serenity was still logged into Photobucket. One was when Serenity first got her tattoo. Another was Seto with Serenity and her mother at a party for his own father. Most were simply them in miscellaneous places kissing each other such as the park and beach.

Joey gave a small laugh. "You're thinking of Serenity." Seto's eyes snapped towards him in shock. "You know you always got the same exac' look when you're thinkin' of my sista'. You know that, Kaiba? I always knew when to slam ya' against the nearest locker jus' because of that look right there. It's like a tell in poker." Seto turned his head away and closed the laptop and put it to the side. "Y'know what? You've got some serious guts. It takes real man to take a hit from a freakin' car and still get up an' help the man behind the wheel. That's more than I can eva' have. So I'm askin' you to be that same man and save my baby sista'." Seto then looked back at him with confused face. "Yeah sounds crazy bananas, right? I know ya' love her an' she loves you. So rescue her from him. She ain't got money or local stature or nothin' like that but he's afta' her golden heart. Don't let 'im take it, Kaiba. That's the only thing she got."

(:::)

Morning had just broken in Hiroshima. Marik had crept to Téa's room before Serenity could wake up. The story concerning his client's potential pregnancy had woken him up. Several calls from his boss, other clients and people who had hired her for future projects. For her to have a child on the way could make or break her, the latter more possible. Most of her roles consisted of being the ingenue; the girl everyone wanted. A baby bump could ruin those roles for her. But before he could enter into 'Business Mode', he had to address it from a personal point of view. "That is **not **mine!" Marik bellowed as he pointed a stern finger at Téa's stomach. She looked down with tear-filled eyes, protecting her stomach just in case he attacked. Even though it was morning and was very unlikely for him to hit her while cast and crew were waking up, she didn't want to risk it. "All that birth control and you wind up pregnant!"

"I stopped taking that stuff months ago, I told you!" Téa cried defensively. She had told him. Numerous times. But he hadn't been paying attention to her because he was still prepping to propose to Serenity. "You can say all you want, it's not Bakura's." she mumbled still looking at the ground. She heard Marik advance towards her and she immediately flinched. But before he could strike her, she moved in closer and held onto him tightly. "Can you just hold me for a second?" she whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes. He sighed and wrapped his arms around him. Téa didn't know if he felt forced or genuinely wanted to comfort her but regardless she felt warm when he kissed her forehead. It was the best Téa had felt in since she found out she was pregnant. But her feeling of security faded with a knock at the door.

"Téa! I have to talk to you. I have hot chocolate and marshmallows!" Serenity giggled from the other side of the door. Marik froze up. Marik hurriedly put on his clothes. He questioned why Serenity was even arriving at Téa's door at such an inconvenient time. Téa quickly wiped her eyes and opened the door, giving Marik just enough time to get everything in place. Sure enough, Serenity had a tray of hot chocolate freshly made with whipped cream on top. Serenity was in Pikachu pajamas complete with Poké Ball slippers. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, loose strands being held back by yellow and red clips.. Téa smiled. She sometimes envied how innocent Serenity was.

"We'll talk about the _extermination_ of the _key grip_ later." Marik said officially on his way out the door. Before he left, he planted a kiss on Serenity's lips and the mouthing 'I love you'. He then disappeared into another actor's room. Téa lost her breath for a moment. _"...extermination..." _She held on to her stomach and looked down. Serenity politely cleared her throat. Téa shook her head and led her friend in the room. She shut and locked the door behind her, fearing Marik's return. Serenity sat on the bed and held the tray in her lap.

"Marik told me last night they weren't shooting your scenes until late today so I wanted to spend some time with you. It's been awhile since we hung out like this!" Téa gave a nervous nod. She was shocked that Serenity thought nothing of Marik exiting her room so early in the morning. Serenity tentatively stirred her cup, a lost look in her eyes. This alarmed Téa because it was very uncharacteristic of her friend.

"Serenity, are you okay? You look confused." Téa giggled, trying to play off her concern. "Something up?" Téa saw Serenity's lip begin to quiver with Téa's words.

Serenity had been thinking of Seto ever since she arrived to Hiroshima. She had called and messaged him numerous times with no response. The moment Marik whisked her off of her feet to Hiroshima, she had regretted it. The sad look Seto had in his eye was imprinted in her mind, appearing every time she blinked. She turned to Téa with a sorrowful look. She was one of her best friends but she still couldn't bring herself to tell her what was going on. She then gave a wide smile. "I..I just wanted to know if I can watch you work today. It's been awhile since I've been around working actors, y'know?"

Téa nodded with a laugh. "No problem at all, hon." They giggled even though she shot a questioning glance at Serenity. There was something awry about her voice. It sounded like a cover; one she wanted to pull away.

(:::)

The sun had just greeted the sky when Lila had read _The Vice_ article on Bakura's computer. Since she arrived in Domino, _The Vice _helped her keep track of even her favorite British actors and she followed the Blurbs of the Hour religiously. . But in a mere couple of sentences, unwanted revelations were discovered. As the clock now struck noon Lila, fueled with anger, began to fling priceless items at Bakura. "You lyin' sack of crusty dragons!" she raved, artfully throwing a painting like it was a Frisbee. Bakura had struggled to catch the works of art and run away from them. "You didn't tell me you were already hitched!" She continued to throw things even as the door crept open revealing her sister and Duke, hand in hand. They had been cautious, afraid to set her off even more than she was. They had come because Lila had called Karine in tears"One week, Bakura! It's been one week since we met! Three days since we shagged and only yesterday did you introduce me to your mates as your girlfriend and not on ONE of these occasions did you tell me you were _married _to _Téa Gardner!_ I didn't even _know_ she was married!"

Bakura had successfully caught a vase full of flowers. He cursed Téa under his breath for buying so many decorative items. "We've avoided the media since we got married in high sc-"

"_High school!_" she shrieked, pausing for a moment before sending an African mask Bakura's way. "Together since high school and you don't even mention it to me! **AND** you got her pregnant! AH!" She let out a battle cry, preparing to launch the mask at his skull until Duke stepped in the way of Bakura protectively.

"I know you're angry Lila but think about what you're doing. This is a friend of mine and I can't-"

Lila simply scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, pretty boy. Just because you're my soon to be in-law don't think I won't risk your head to hit his!"

Karine rushed to her sister's side, holding her wrists down. She gave a nervous giggle. "Oh c'mon now, love. What's hurting him gonna do? Nothin', that's what. Now maybe if you explain something before you break something else you can't afford on an actress' budget?" Even though Karine had a short stature, she had more than enough strength to prevent her sister from attack Duke and Bakura. Lila's labored breathing began to slow. She still glared at Bakura with intensity in her eyes. Karine gently guided her to the couch and sat her down. Bakura and and Duke sat on the couch adjacent from the sisters. "Now, I'll play mediator before you rip each others heads. Bakura I'll let you talk first since you been dodging bullets all mornin'."

Bakura released a sigh of relief. He put his elbows on his knees and looked directly into the eyes of Lila. She had her arms crossed and looked at him with intent to kill in her pupils. "Lila, you've got to believe me when I say I wanted to tell you. Me and Téa haven't been in love for a long time. We haven't touched each other in over a year, there's no way that bugger in her stomach is mine." Lila opened her mouth to scream but Karine made her settle down. He then began to pontificate to himself. "It's probably Marik's. Those two were always an item behind my back.."

Duke mumbled something under his breath. Everyone's head snapped towards him. He looked up at everyone. "We could just go to Hiroshima. I'm heading over there today anyway because I have to meet with some bigwigs over there. There's enough room in the jet."

Karine's eyes lit up. The problem at hand had faded away as her life with Duke streamed in front of her eyes. "A jet too! I hit the jackpot!" Karine leaped over the coffee table and onto Duke, planting kisses on his face. "And to think when I met you I thought you were some average cute broke bloke flirting with me!" The couple giggled as they kissed each other next to Bakura.

Bakura, feeling uncomfortable, stood up and turned away from the couple. His mind turned to the woman he cared about sitting a mere few feet from him. A woman who would rather have him dead at the moment. Then his thoughts went to the woman he was married to. A woman he can't even remember kissing. He gave a small growl. He knew her celebrity status would hurt him one day. He liked it better when the media focused on more prominent figures but her pregnancy has skyrocketed them back to tabloid royalty. Lila still glared at Bakura. He looked at her mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her with a pleading look in his eye. She only responded with a middle finger up at him. _You better hope that you're right, Bakura. _Lila thought angrily. _Because I'd hate if I was wrong about you._

(:::)

Serenity and Téa had drifted into several conversations. Serenity let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad I came and talked to you. It's really nice to get my mind off things for the first time in awhile." Serenity chuckled, sipping on the hot chocolate brought up by room service. Téa cocked an eyebrow. She desperately wanted to know what was going on inside Serenity's mind. She then glanced at the alarm clock on the side of the bed. "Oh! I better leave. Marik will be mad at me if he knew I was holding you up." She got up and stretched her arms in the air, slightly exposing her bellybutton. "I'll go take a shower and sneak on set later." She grabbed her room key which was on the nightstand. As Serenity took the key in her hand, Téa noticed something.

"Hey Serenity. Where's your engagement ring?" she asked simply. Serenity seemed to turn pale. She stuffed the key in her pocket and rubbed her left hand with her right.

"I-It's on my nightstand in D-Domino. Silly me, huh?" she stammered. Giving her final goodbyes, she slipped out of the door without giving her curious friend anytime to question her. Téa gave a small 'humph'. Before she could take off her bathrobe, she heard an electronic bing from the bed. She turned around to see Serenity's phone buzzing, notifying her there was one new text message from 'S. Kaiba'. This really raised Téa's suspicions. She opened her mouth to call for her friend but swiftly shut it when she realized the power she held. She eagerly flipped open the phone and opened the message.

_Sorry I haven't spoken to you. I was frustrated about you leaving with him. On my way to Hiroshima. Meet me at the Sunset Bar at nine?  
_

Surprise and intrigue ran through her mind as the door crept open. She looked up from the phone to see Marik standing with a curious look. She shoved the phone behind her back although it was already too late. She realized having Marik have a key was not such a good idea after all. Marik approached her with fierceness. He closed the door as he cut his eyes at her.

"That's Serenity's phone." he seethed. He took more steps towards her as she backed up into the dresser. Her breathing got heavier. She knew the familiar tone all too well. "What are you doing with her phone, Téa?" Even though his voice was low, his words seemed to hold onto her throat. She had a choice; have him beat the phone out of her or hand it to him and rush to the bathroom. Her eyes shifted in contemplation. Another fresh bruise would be hard to explain. So rather than to protect Serenity's secret, she gave in and handed him the phone. He snatched it from her hand and as she planned, she raced to the bathroom where her clothing was located. He heard the lock click as he flipped the phone up. The text was still on the screen. _Kaiba?_ Marik's mind raced angrily. He rushed to the bathroom door and gave it a sharp hit. "Téa! I swear to God if you knew _anything _about this I'll-"

"I just found out when you walked in. I don't know anything!" Téa defended. There were small moments of silence. She was waiting for the inevitable outburst perhaps him even kicking in the door. He mumbled something then left the room, slamming the door behind him. She gave a silent prayer of thanks.

She let the bathrobe fall to the ground leaving her bruised and battered body exposed. She looked at herself in the full length mirror. She stood in a profile position, intensively staring at her stomach. Her stomach was slightly poking out from her slim frame but not by much. She rubbed her unborn child. She know she needed to go to a doctor but her career, Marik's relationship and her marriage were all at risk. She didn't know if Bakura would stay by her side if she had a baby by another man. She couldn't talk to Marik. He'd rather have the baby not exist then have it ruin his engagement. She slipped on her black shirt and matching skirt because it would be easier to get in her costume on set. She held her stomach and shed a small tear. "Baby, I don't know what's gonna happen to you yet but I'm kinda hoping you stay around." she cooed in a motherly tone. "It'll be lonely if we're apart but if we stick together, maybe we won't feel like that anymore."

(:::)

Seto waited patiently at the bar, tapping his foot on the ground incessantly. He had no time to get dressed after his meeting so he sat in the bar in his black suit awaiting her appearance. He'd listened to the voicemails and read the text messages Serenity left him. She was pleading for them to talk but his ego had fought against that. But after talking with Joey, he realized how much he needed her. At least to sort things out. He ordered another drink from the barista, getting started on his binge if the night ended negatively. There was soft music on the speakers and the door was only to be opened for one girl. "Hitting the sauce, huh Kaiba?" a voice whispered in his ear. Seto quickly turned around to see the welcoming smile of Serenity. After the initial shock, he examined Serenity's outfit; a short black cocktail dress with a silver chain accenting her hips. He couldn't help but give a once over. Serenity couldn't help but notice this as she blushed. "It's Téa's dress. She let me borrow it for tonight. We're going out dancing in a few-"

Seto stumbled on his words. He was afraid she'd be rushed. "Well if you need to go I'll-"

"-hours. At the JuJuBay" Serenity lied. She sat next to him and ordered a cranberry juice. They both looked straight ahead only able to see each others face in the reflection of the bottles of alcohol. The barista noticed the two's idle state and decided to go in the back to give them privacy. "Walk around?"

Seto swallowed hard and nodded. They both picked up their drinks. He stood up and took her hand, escorting her through the crowd and worked their way up the stairs. It was mostly vacant aside from young lovers making out in the dimly lit area. Now free from the crowd, Serenity lead them to a window which doused them in light. The way the moon shone on her made it seem as if she was in a spotlight. She turned to look at him and stared right into his eyes. "I still love you." she said in a soft voice. To the people around him she was just a girl standing in front of a window but to him she was on a stage pouring her heart out to him.

"And I still love you." he responded with an equally small tone. "You're getting married." He turned his head away from was brought back to her eyes as if they were trapping him.

"You're moving to America." she shot back, walking towards him. Even in her heels, she was still came up to his chin. Despite this she looked at him with the confidence of being twelve foot. "You love me."

"You love Marik." Seto said with more venom than he intended. A chill went down Serenity's back but this didn't stop her from backing down. He tried to walk away but she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to her.

"Not enough to stop me from coming here." Seto was shocked, possibly more than Serenity herself. The fallen words held truth. When Marik gave Serenity her cell phone which she had left in Téa's room, the text on the screen had set off a chain of events that led her to the bar instantaneously. They were stuck in that moment. Both of their brains had experienced radio silence. Then he said the words she'd thought she'd never hear..

"Come to Manhattan with me." he propositioned spontaneously. She gave a sharp gasp.

"Manhattan?" she repeated aloud, making sure that she heard him correctly. He nodded. "Like _Manhattan_ _Manhattan_? In New York? In the United States?" He nodded again, taking her hands in his.

"Skylines, Broadway and me. What more can you ask for?" he chuckled halfheartedly. "You always wanted to be an actress but you'll never get to shine under Marik's thumb." She huffed and snatched hers hands out of his. She lost her ground and even felt herself stumbling backwards.

"Seto, I'm engaged! In six weeks, I'm-" Serenity found her sentence to be cut short by Seto's lips against hers. He held her close to him, stopping her from hitting the floor. She hated when he did that, and he did it often. But she melted into it, giving soft replies to his assertive kisses.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. "Please.." he said in a meek whisper. "For three years I've gotten up just hoping I'd see you again. You're what helps me going. I just want to know if I can be in your future. Because I _need_ you to be in mine."

Serenity was stunned. She was shaking under his touch. She looked up at him and murmured, "But you said you didn't want me to leave Marik a-and that you just needed one da-"

"That was before I realized this how much I love you." He pressed her against the wall, the two joining the other couples in search for privacy. Yet again their lips met. Their glasses fell to the floor as the two mixed together on the ground. They crashed at the same time as the shards seemed to fall together like puzzle pieces. He tore the ponytail from her hair and let it relax against her back. She broke the kiss and started to breath hard. "I have a life in Domino I just can't.." This time she interrupted herself by kissing his neck. He held her closer as she pulled him in to her with her legs. Her mind was cloudy with thoughts. Leave Marik and pack up and start anew with Seto in New York? Live out her dreams performing on Broadway? She was conflicted and the smell of his cologne was only making her even foggier.

(:::)

Téa had her arms crossed over her chest in impatience. She was breathing so heavily, she was afraid her yellow sheath dress way rip to pieces. She desperately wanted to take a sip of whatever was sitting in the minifridge of the limousine but couldn't due to her condition. The bar had a lengthy line which didn't please her whatsoever. She was with three other cast members; Ryo, Shira and Mika. "This place sucks anyway, the JuJuBay is better." Ryo spat bitterly, running a hand through his dark curls right before he adjusted the purple tie. He was a native of Hiroshima and knew good places for them to travel. "The people at Sunset are typically weak. Why did you wanna come here anyway?" Téa released an uneasy sigh and shrugged. She knew Marik would be less than happy when he finds out she didn't see Serenity. She had sent him a text message a few minutes prior but he said he was on an important phone call. This worked out in her favor. She would tell him later when he was in a more reasonable mood which probably means when he's drunk. Ryo's eyebrow arched suspiciously in Mika's direction. "Hold up, has anyone notice that she has been whispering into that phone for like half an hour?"

Shira shifted her legs on the sidewalk, encased in ripped leggings. "Yeah I noticed but I believe in something called _privacy_." Shira said protectively. She adjusted her black mini skirt and black and periwinkle corset top. Shira had very short bleach blond hair and had an eyebrow piercing as well as a snakebite piercings (which were the only piercings that she could show). Despite her appearance, she was the most motherly of the cast, especially over the girls.

"No, you believe in something called _ease-dropping_." he countered only to receive a strike in the head from Shira. Téa couldn't help but chuckle at their behavior. She was feeling more lighthearted already. As they continued to bicker, the two didn't even notice Mika get off of her cell phone with a wide smile on her face. "I swear this is the last time I work with you!" he snarled with a pout.

"Eh, don't give me that. You've said that the last six films and I stopped believing you the last two!"

"Can you guys keep a secret?" she said in a small voice accompanied by a grin. Mika was characteristically quiet. She had short wavy honey brown hair and blue eyes with led one to believe her innocence and chastity. She was very small in stature and had baby like features chisled into her face. Most people can't even decipher the fact she's eighteen. Though her tone was soft, it was loud enough to end the fighting between Shira and Ryo. The two leaned in really close to her, giddy with the knowledge they hadn't even gained yet. "I hooked up with someone on set yesterday." A ripple of gasps broke through the group This garnered Téa's interest. "I feel really bad because his girlfriend is on set and all but if you know who I'm talking about, he's worth the risk."

"Who?" Ryo squawked in curiosity.

"Guess." she quipped.

"Screw that." Shira hollered. "I told you about me and the caterer so you _have_ to tell me who this mystery man is! At least tell me is he on screen or behind the scenes?"

"Behind." she answered while wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, I bet." Téa mumbled to herself. She didn't really care for Mika. Not only did she find her sickeningly annoying, but since they shared the same type, they were in constant competition for roles. It didn't help that they were both represented by Marik either. She then smiled malevolently just thinking how Marik would react when he found out she had some random hook up with some know nothing key grip. Téa found the time appropriate to enter the conversation. "Cameraman?"

"Think of it like this. We're not on screen together but we work very closely to each other." she hinted, stamping her feet in excitement.

Shira pondered for a moment. "Well that could be the producer, the director, your publicist-"

"Your agent!" Ryo blurted out. Téa's blood ran cold. She looked at Mika hoping to get a shaking of her head. She instead bit her lip and turned red, taking the fedora off of Shira's head and retreated into it.

"Your agent?" Téa yelped. "Your agent like...like my agent? Like.." Téa seemed to be rambling on and on. She felt like she was decaying. The other two congratulated her and asked questions but with every word spoken, Téa felt queasy. Marik said it was only her and Serenity. Her and Serenity. "Not...not her.." The trio turned and looked at her with questioning stares. It was either fight or fall at that moment. Téa chose fight.

_You're what keeps me believing the world's not gone dead,_  
_ Strength in my bones put the words in my head._  
_ When they pour out to paper, it's all for you. _  
_ 'Cause that's what you do._

* * *

**A/N: if you hate me raise your hand! =_= I'm soooo sorry! Busy with many things, including Indulgence! I swear I'm working hard to please you! But now that I'm done kissing your ass...**

**Does ANYONE feel sorry for Téa? I mean ANYONE! She's having it pretty rough, you guys. Does she get a sympathy vote?**

**More Joey and Mai next chapter? yes. Lila and Bakura! Hells yes! and Karine and Duke! Most definitely. SPOILER! Girlfights ensue.  
**

**And Seto and Serenity? Will it be a happy ending? If so NOT YET! Mwuhahahaha! **

**And if it was any confusion...Seto and Serenity broke up THREE years ago and Serenity and Marik got together TWO years ago. That was causing some folks to get stumped so...there. **

**Oh and I'll touch up this chapter later. Prepping for Oscars!  
**

**I better stop typing so I can work on the next chapter! Till next time..  
**


	10. Colorblind

**Colorblind**

Shira was holding back Mika as Ryo struggled with Téa. The many people waiting in line circled around them, eager for a release from mundanely standing in line. Even the bouncers were intrigued at the altercation. Brown strands of hair had showered down on the sidewalk. Both women were wild, breathing heavily and snarling. Mika's dress had tears where Téa had clawed and Téa herself maintained some wounds to the face. As the clicking of cameras and camera phones rang through the night, Shira and Ryo were trying to cover their faces. The last thing their own agents would want was them being associated in such riotous behavior. "Of course, you _rookies _have to sleep your way to the top!" Téa growling, moving her arm to punch again only to be restrained by Ryo. "Tell me Miss Mika Fuka, is that how you got more lines than me?"

"No, I achieved that by not being an old used up bag!" Mika retorted as she tried with all her might to move forward. Shira's grip was too strong for her to move. This set Téa off in ways believed unachievable. She broke free of Ryo's shaky grip, landing a fist against Mika's face. Afraid of getting hit herself, Shira let go and stepped back. Shira and Ryo had given up and turn towards the bouncers for help. Shira demanded one of them to contact Marik. The two grappled with each other, both trying to rip out the throat of the one opposite. The chorus of name calling had begun. "Cunt!"

"Whore!"

"Bitch!"

"Skank!"

"Botox!"

"Lipo!"

Serenity had ran outside with Seto in tow. They both saw the fight from where they were. She worked her way through the masses surrounding the two actresses. Seto followed after he told the bouncer to get the authorities. Serenity snatched up Téa by her waist and lifted her into the air watching her fight air. Seto easily tossed Mika over his shoulder. He turned towards the people and finally shooed them away. Disappointed, the people listened to Seto's command with the aid of the bouncers. The only people left were Téa, Seto, Serenity, Shira and Ryo. Despite the crowd dispersing, this didn't stop the women from arguing. "Why do you even care about what I do with Marik? You're married! I can have sex with whoever I please!" Serenity froze, her grip on Téa still tight but her mind going blank. She couldn't _possibly _mean _her _Marik..right?

Téa, in the heat of the moment, had yet to realize that Serenity was the one holding her back. "One lousy fling in the broom closet? Pssh, amateur!" she lambasted. "Me and him were having at it before you even read for your first Juicy Juice commercial so you need to back off!" Everyone around gasped sharply. Shira had just remembered who Serenity was. They had talked many times that day. A hot topic of their conversations were regarding the wedding; Marik and Serenity's. Shira hid herself in Ryo's chest with full knowledge of the anger hanging in the air. Suddenly, a speeding Maserati made stopped in front of the club. Marik hurriedly stepped out of the ruby red car and glanced over the scene. He looked into Serenity's eyes and knew something was awry.

"You..and Marik..." Her words trembled wildly. Téa finally realized who it was, now regretting her choice of words. Serenity dropped Téa to the ground, numb with emotion. Seto placed Mika, still in shock, into the care of Shira and Ryo. He walked towards Serenity, only to be passed by Marik. Serenity was distraught. He tried to explain, caressing her face and speaking calmly. "Those late nights, huh." she mumbled, barely able to look him in the eye. Soon squad cars and reporters had the place surrounded. The flashing lights only made her feel more nauseous. "'Meetings, Serenity. They're tearing me apart. Working late nights sure are tough.' How many parts of that was bull, Marik?"

Téa, bruised from the fight, limped over to Serenity and Marik. "Serenity, I'm so sorry. It just started so suddenly and it just kept happening, I never meant to replace you. I-"

"Bullshit! 'Why can't he marry me?' Why does it have to be her?'!" Marik posed defensively. Téa looked at him, hurt by his words. He was willing to throw her under the bus to save himself. Serenity's eyes darted between the both of them. She was hindered by the betrayal. The stench of mendacity filling her nostrils. "Serenity, baby, please just give me a second." He walked towards her and she managed to push him away.

"Before we all make _complete_fools out of ourselves, I suggest we take this elsewhere." Seto coolly suggested. This only further agitated Marik.

"Hey! _Fuck _you! You're the one feeling up on my girlfriend!" Marik screeched. Marik hadn't soon forgot about why he was initially at the club. The crowd started wiling up, ready for another brawl.

"Which one? Serenity, Téa or Lila?" Marik was frozen by his words, as well as Serenity. He swiftly turned towards the bouncer restraining the crowd. "Is there any place in there were we can converse in private?" He nodded as he began to escort the group involved to through the doors.

Everyone quickly shuffled behind the bouncer except Serenity and Seto. Serenity had stopped him from entering. She took his wrist and had him look at her. "You knew." she said, her face twitching from the impending tears. Seto opened his mouth to speak only to close it again. "You knew about him and you didn't tell me?" Seto was silent. He turned his head away from her. She only squeezed his wrist tighter. "So you did. Was this before or after you wanted me to fly off with you to New York? Before or after we went into that hotel room, Seto? Huh!" Too upset to wait for an answer, she pushed passed him and caught up with everyone else.

(:::)

Lila paced anxiously in the hotel room. Bakura had used his charm on the receptionist to obtain the room key of Téa Gardner. They had entered the grand room, lacking her presence. Bakura had taken refuge in the bedroom. Duke was enjoying the flat screen television as Karine was admiring the room's perks. "Oh my bleedin' Jesus, is this a complimentary bottle of wine! And it's not that nasty Sake crap! You Japs know how to suck up, don't ya'? I ain't complain' though." She pulled out a Swiss army knife from her back pocket and used the corkscrew to open up the bottle. "Freakin' ace! She won't mind if I filch this. I wonder if I could nick some nosh 'round here." She then went to the kitchen in the suite, humming loudly to herself.

Duke laughed to himself. "You know, Lila. I love your sister but sometimes I can't understand what she's saying." Lila, tired from being on her feet, sat down next to Duke. She folded her arms and huffed. Duke looked at her and smiled. "Ha, you really do love him." Lila's head snapped towards him and glared at him. "Hey, most people would be intimidated by that but I'm not. You wouldn't be making him go through these hoops if you simply had a crush."

"He's right, you know." Karine said, a big plate of food in tow. She sat on the other side of Bakura and placed the plate in his lap, picking up an orange and began to peel it. "I know you an' if were anyone else you would have told him to be on 'is bike a long time ago. But 'ave you noticed that you're in a completely new city, chasing down his ex so you can make sure he's all yours?" Lila pondered the statement.

"Excuse me, honey. On his bike?" Duke questioned.

"Oh. Fuck off, dear." Karine clarified, tearing off a piece of her orange and feeding it to Duke. "I'll make you into a real Brit by the time we get married." Lila stood up as the lovey-dovey couple whispered sweet nothings to each other.

Lila had crept towards the bedroom. She sighed heavily and opened the door, slipping into the dark room. She saw a shirtless Bakura laying in middle of the bed, moonlight shining on his silver locks. She quietly shut the door behind her and tiptoed to the king size bed. She knelt at the side of the bed and took his hand in hers, causing him to slightly stir. He quickly fell back to sleep. Lila smiled at him. "You actually let me drag you along all this time. Makin' ya' confront you ex-wife to be with me..it's like you..really care about me or something." She let go of his hand and slid off her jeans and pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her in her dark purple lingerie. She then carefully climbed into the bed and snuggled in the crook of his arms, drifting off to sleep herself. Bakura had just enough consciousness to wrap his arms around her before he too went to sleep.

(:::)

The people outside's conversations were sparked with what just happened. They had finally reached a pale blue door, strongly contrasting with the black and red color scheme of the club. He pulled out a key from his pocket and handed it to Seto. They gave each other a nod as Seto opened the door. The bouncer ensured every person got in safely before Seto closed the door. He still kept vigilance, hoping for an extremely good tip. The room was black with various color splats on the wall. It had three worn pieces of furniture circled around a broken down coffee table; a brown armchair, green loveseat and red couch. Ryo, Shira and Mika sat on the couch next to each other. Téa and Serenity sat tentatively by each other as Marik took the chair. Seto stood in front of them all. "Now that we are out of the streets, we can talk like adults instead of fighting like children."

Seemingly instantaneously, Mika stood to her feet proudly, ignoring the pain shooting through her left leg. Mika turned and looked at Marik. "I was simply telling Ryo and Shira about the encounter between Marik and I had and then Téa mauled me like an animal." Mika delicately explained.

Marik sunk into the chair as Serenity posed a question. "By _encounter_, y-you do mean-"

"Sex. Yes, Marik and I had sex today after shooting." she answered shamelessly. Serenity cringed in her seat. Marik buried his face in his hands. Mika had always been one of her favorite actresses and it hurt to find this out. Mika was pulled back down by Shira.

"Could you _try _digression?" Téa nagged. She'd hurt Serenity enough, she wanted to try and protect her from people she didn't even know. "She's only-"

"Finding out that her fiancee is a piece of cheating crap? I'd shut if I were you, baby mama." Téa stood up defensively. "Come on, all you have to do is go to TMZ, The Vice, choose your tabloid website. You're packing and God knows you haven't even touched Bakura in years. And it doesn't take an idiot to know about you and him sneaking around. I was questionable about it but you merely confirmed it. You're having Marik's kid." Serenity's eyes shot open. Téa slid back into her seat shamefully. Mika, who had refrained from general guilt, felt a pang of regret at the sight of Serenity's face. Serenity cut her eyes at Téa before shifting to Seto.

"And when did you find out, Kaiba?" Serenity seethed, putting expressive disdain on his name.

Seto was taken aback by her coldness. "Not to long ago. Lila told me. Before we..." Seto then glanced over to Serenity then to Marik. "Before Joey and Mai's engagement party."

Marik noticed his hesitance. He was quick to his feet. "No, 'before we' what? 'Before we' what, Kaiba!" Marik's eyes darted between them. Both were deadly silent. The two avoided contact with Marik and each other. The rest of the room had put two and two together. Shira was the first to her feet.

"Well, it's getting a bit too tense in here." she announced, standing up herself. "I'm gonna do some damage control by getting drunk off my ass and having meaningless sex with whatever's clever. Who cares to join me?" Ryo quickly stood to his feet, grabbing Mika's wrist. "Well, I really do hope you people work this out. And remember, we have a movie to do so..yeah. Marik, fix this or I'm gonna go to another agent. For real this time."

Shira led the two out of the room, leaving Téa, Serenity, Marik and Seto. Marik started to maliciously advance towards Serenity. A fire was alight in his soul. His angel had been ravaged by another. Serenity still did not look at him but she could feel him growing ever closer. He stopped right in front of her. "You let him _fuck_ you didn't you?" Silence. "You **did**! How could you do this to me! How could you-"

"_Me _do this to _you_!" Serenity exclaimed, standing up and pushing him back. "You go off with my best friend, a teenage starlet and God knows who else behind my back, and **_I'm _**the one so terrible!" Marik had stumbled back into his chair. "You know what, I really loved you. I gave you everything and ended up having to train myself to be numb when I saw the occasional web comment about rumored affairs! 'Marik wouldn't _dare _cheat on me!' 'He treats me like I'm a _princess_!' That's what I had to tell myself. Every _damn _time!" She got especially close to his face, her voice turning cold and quiet. "And I'd throw your ring in your face if I didn't leave it in the hotel room with Seto." She turned around and stormed towards the door. Seto stood up to stop her but Serenity pushed him back down. Téa looked at the two broken men before shuffling out of the room herself.

The two then looked at each other, both rejected by the woman they love. Seto felt heartache all over again. What he felt like he had when she first broke his heart. The same feeling of being hit by a car comes to mind. He quickly realized that he would be travelling to Manhanttan alone. Again. "You fucked my girlfriend." Marik said plainly.

Seto couldn't help but scoff. "You fucked everyone else."

(:::)

Joey had his arms wrapped around Mai tightly in the jacuzzi bathtub in their hotel room. Seto had supplied them their own suite during their stay in Hiroshima. "Ain't this just romantic, Mai? Real nice of Kaiba to let us have the whole room." Joey said, astonished by the accommodations. You know they got actual coconut milk in the fridge? Not flavorin'. REAL coconut milk! Ain't this the life, Mai? I'd say so!" Mai was silent, as she was the entire time they were in the bath. "Babe, you ain't said a word. You alright?" Mai turned to look at him and then looked at the toiletries at the edge of the sink. She had lied to Marik when she said she told Joey about what actually happened the night three years ago. It was tearing her up inside and she could barely stand it. "Mai baby? You can talk to me, it's Joe. Come on, what's on your mind?" He took her hand under the water and gave it a squeeze.

Mai swallowed her pride and let the words come out. "Joe, do you remember that night? Long ago? With Seto?" Mai could feel Joey shiver and nod into her neck. "Well, it wasn't Seto. You know that I..well it just wasn't him."

There was a short period of silence after she finished the sentence. She was afraid to speak anymore than that. To her surprise, the next sound that entered the air was the sound of Joey's laughter. She was completely baffled. He held on to her even tight and nuzzled into her neck. "Baby, I know that. An' I know who it was. An' I couldn't care any less than I do righ' now!" She was shocked at his previous knowledge. "I love you. Ain't nothin' gonna change that. Not a damn thing. Because I don't wanna miss a thing with you, baby. Why would I screw it up over somethin' that happened foreva ago! I'm jus' glad you got that offa ya' chest. You feel betta?"

Mai turned around, smiling and crying at the same time. She kissed Joey on intensely on the lips. "I love you!" she cried before she kissed him again. She could have hoped her whole life that she had found a man that takes her good and her ugly. Luckily, he was already there.

(:::)

Téa had almost went into shock upon entering her hotel room. She was exhibiting Duke with some strange woman on her couch, devouring her food and had the distinguished scent of her favorite perfume in the air. She shrieked. "Oh! Hey Téa! We were just watching you." Duke said nonchalantly.

"Duke! What in holy fuck are you doing in my hotel room! And who is that! And...wait, what you mean 'just watching me'. I don't have any of my movies with me."

"The news! You're a feisty little one, aren't you! I ain't seen someone as quick to some aggro as I just saw wit' you. That dress saw some damage." Karine had said, taking a bite of an apple fritter.

"Great, another Brit." she sighed.

"Oh, we're plentiful 'round 'ere. Fairly nice folk. 'cept that putrid cunt Lila. Kinda hope she drowns in a sea of her own rubbish, know what I mean?" Duke nudged her. "What, hon? All the men she's taken from me. She can suck raw eggs." Téa's face lit up. Karine knew she had her. "Don't tell me you know her? Blimey, she ain't parading her stuff 'round Domino, is she? Homewreckers, can't stan' 'em. By the way, I love your pictures." Duke laughed under his breath.

"Yes! All the trouble Lila has caused in Domino, it's ridiculous! She's on the brink of ruining my relationship! She's so liberal with her..everything, it's offensive!" Téa was undoubtedly flattered and impressed by Duke's companion. But now she was curious. "'Aggro?'" Duke pointed towards the television, beckoning Téa to come over and observe the screen. It was her and Mika all over the place, trying to choke each other. _"Me and him were having at it before you even read for your first Juicy Juice commercial so you need to back off!" _Téa's eyes widened and looked at the other people in the room.

Karine smirked at her. "Well, sounds like you need some hard liquor after the night you had." Karine popped up and directed herself the bar by the kitchen. "One shot! Two shots! Soon we'll be down to NO SHOTS!"

"One, two, three more! You'll be stumblin' on the floor!" a voice chorused, exiting the bedroom slyly, still in her undergarments and a large white button up shirt. She leaned against the door frame, grinning devilishly at Téa. Téa's voice was stuck in her throat. "Dash of vodka, splash of gin.."

"The sun will hurt your eyes again!" the sister's said together as Karine prepared shots for five people. Téa noticed the number. Karine laughed as Téa reviewed the glasses. She tilted her head towards the bedroom. Téa followed her direction. She could see Bakura emerging from the bedroom, wrapping his arms around Lila, then burying himself in her neck. "There goes the offensive bitch now, ain't it?"

"Love you too, Sis." Lila cooed playfully at Karine. She broke through Bakura's hold and strutted towards a frozen Téa. She stopped inches from her face. She looked down upon the shorter woman with a small laugh. "You look so much taller in your movies. But that's blatant, I digress."

"What are you doing in _my _room with _my _husband?" Téa said lowly, feigning ferocity. "How did you even get in here?" Lila pointed back at a half naked Bakura, waving childishly. "An-"

"Stop it, Might Mouse. You're lucky I didn't stick to my previous plans and get vicious with your face." Lila said coldly. "I'll be fairly blunt; I'm in love with your husband. He's in love with me. You're the issue. Your career can't be an excuse anymore since you little girlfight and you admittance to fucking Marik hat's off has pretty much sent your stuff down the toilet. You're carrying his child under your pounding heart and I don't give a shit. I just want you to sign a couple papers and allow Bakura to be mine. Now we could do this the easy way, or the _fairly _difficult way. You see, my sister may be a short one but she's the epitome of roughneck. And I ain't the delicate flower myself so get yourself a lawyer, sign with inconsolable differences and be on your way with Marik Jr., okay?" Téa was stunned. She looked at the unwavering face of Bakura. Lila was telling the truth.

"Téa, I really did love you. I did. But you broke me and my heart when you crept behind my back with Marik, of all rats. Your agent. But Lila, she makes me happy. And she does care about me. You gave me up years ago, love." Lila turned around and smiled at him. Téa, overwhelmed by the events of the day, faded to black as she passed out.

(:::)

Serenity had wandered to a club nearby that wasn't as busy or hot with media attention and ordered an Osaka Dry. She had desperately wanted vodka in her system. As soon as the bartender was done topping off the drink, she took the cup and allowed the liquor to slide down her throat. "You know," she began, her words already beginning to slur, "it's not easy being in love with two men, sir." The man shook his head, intuitively making her another drink. "I mean, they are both handsome. One's taller but that doesn't mean anything to me. One cheated, the other lied about the one cheating and now I'm just at a loss for words." She graciously took the drink. She sighed as she finished. The bartender began to make one more drink but Serenity shook her head. "As kind as you are, I don't have that kind of money tonight."

"It's on the house." the tall blue eyed man replied, finishing the drink. "All three." Serenity smiled and to the glass, swirling the drink in her hands.

"Aren't you nice? You must have some pretty girl chasing you around, huh?" Serenity chuckled. He shrugged his shoulders playfully. "Whatdya mean, shrug? Beer goggles aren't that quick, I can tell you're a cute guy. Honestly, if I wasn't so upset at these idiots, I'd be chasing you."

"Well, I did. But I haven't gotten much of anything lately. I've been so busy working since my agent fired me." the bartender confessed. He sighed, pouring himself a shot. "I was on top of the world until that asshole dumped me. Funny thing, _I _employed _him. _Entertainment's a funny world. You catch someone in the backroom with Téa Gardner and your whole image is ruined. Cheers, huh?" He looked around for any of his supervisors and then took a drink. "Well lady, be happy that your cheating beau isn't Marik Ishtar. The way he beats on his mistress, I don't wanna see how he treats his actual girl." Serenity gulped hard.

"He hit her?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"That's an understatement. I think he gets off on it or something." he mumbled, fixing himself another shot. "Oh, probably shouldn't have told you that. Oh well. What's he gonna do now? Swear I'll never work in this town again? Too late." He laughed to himself as he took the drink.

Serenity dropped a couple of her dollars and mumbled a thank you before shuffling outside of the club. She stood idly for a minute, woozy from the drinks she just consumed. As she closed her eyes, she ran around the corner into an alleyway. Every last bit of what she just drank spewed out onto the concrete. When she lifted up her head, she felt a little sobered up. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her friend. A groggy British eventually picked up the phone. "_'Ello?_"

Serenity had initial confusion. "Lila? Why do you have Téa's phone? Is everything okay?"

"_Well, that's a grand question, Serenity_." Lila yawned. "_The girl passed out earlier and now she just woke up and the doctor is runnin' tests on her. Apparently, her body's underwent loads of physical stress so her baby may be at risk. Probably should have told me that before I threatened to beat her up if she didn't divorce Bakura.._"

"What!" Serenity shouted in retaliation.

"_'Ey! 'Ey! Don't blame me I was off my ass, drinking in her bedroom with Bakura. Good thing I'm a rather clean drunk or I might have gotten noticed jogging a movie star on my back to a taxi...or does that get noticed? While I'm here, I might as well get a career jump off or at least an-_"

"**Lila!**" Serenity scolded. "What hospital are you at? As a matter of fact, text it to me. I'll be there as soon as I can." She ended the call and stepped out of the alleyway, the fumes starting to get to her. She pulled out her cell phone again, sifting through the contacts, stopping at Seto's name. She was extremely tempted to call him. But his failure to tell her about Marik troubled her. But then again, would she even believe him? She was confused, still woozy and nauseous. Soon her phone dinged alerting her of a text message. She immediately hailed a taxi and headed towards the hospital.

(:::)

Bakura sat beside the bed as Téa began to stir, a jacket over his naked shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open and saw his kind eyes staring at her. She missed that about him. She faintly rose a hand to his cheek, cupping it softly. Their eyes met for only a moment before Bakura turned away and pushed away her hand away. She scoffed to herself and turned towards him on her side. "Remember when we actually liked each other?" she sighed. "We actually went on dates and got each other presents and what was _really _excited was when we could stand sleeping in the same room. Remember?" Bakura remained silent. "It's okay, you don't have to talk. If you really want out, I won't put up a fight." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "We tried, at least. We did the whole relationship thing. The marriage thing. The baby thin-" Téa saw Bakura grimance.

"At least you have another chance at the 'baby thing', Téa." Bakura groaned uncharacteristically. "But you do realize it's not because of the baby incident or the cheating or the new baby incident. It's-"

"You love her. That swoon and sigh feeling we had a long time ago. It's alright, Bakura. I've got enough new responsibilities on my plate, I won't fight this. As long as you pay the expense, you are the one in a relationship now." Téa tried to joke. Bakura nodded appreciatively. She pulled the wedding ring off of her finger, placing it in his hand. "Seven years of being together, five years of marriage."

"Four years of fame and two years of hating each other. Aren't we the romantically mathmatical?" Bakura chuckled morbidly to himself. He leaned in close to her, still vunerable in her hospital bed. He softly whispered, "Goodbye, Téa Gardner."

"Goodbye, Ryo Bakura." she mumbled in reply. He placed one last kiss on her forehead before getting up and leaving the room, flicking off the lightswitch as he closed the door. In the dark, the baby struggling to stay alive inside her stomach and the moonlight were her only companions, the only ones able to witness her tears.

_And I move too slow and I think too fast and the first rainbow I see will be the last. _

* * *

**A/N: So, the majority of you have probably given up on this story, simply because my ridculously long time to update. Well, stress has been abound personally; family, friends, relationships, friendships..sigh. But what am I saying? You guys don't care :D**

**I do love you peoples who did stick around. Very much so. I'll be typing all tonight so I'll try to have a new chap soon! I LOVE reviews as much as I LOVE my readers :3**


	11. Where The Hurt Is

**Where The Hurt Is**

She threw some money at the driver and got out of the taxi. Serenity burst through the hospital doors without any form of caution. The media frenzy hadn't appeared yet, lucky for her and Téa. Karine was waiting for Serenity in the lobby. Karine stood up and gave her a firm hug. Karine knew it was no time for formalities. "I'll show you where she is." Serenity simply nodded and followed down the hallway. When they entered the elevator, Serenity's stomach immediately turned queasy. She got even worse when the elevator moved upward. Her system still retained alcohol. Karine noticed and could help but chuckle. "You people and your liquor. Can't hol' it one bit. Then maybe that's the Irish side ov' me. Lila and me's father is Irish. But don't call me a leprechaun, I'll be one to get brassed off because of that, okay?" Serenity nodded, holding her stomach. "TMZ told me what happened at the club. Sorry to hear that, mate. He was an arse anyway. But that Seto guy seems like straight shooter. "

"That's what I thought." she mumbled, biting her lip to prevent herself from vomiting. "Karine? You're a bartender. Do you know any quick sobering up methods?"

"Sure. Pukin' ya' brains out." she said brightly and obviously. Serenity was afraid that was the answer. "But don't get sick up in here, I still gotta stand here for a few more moments." Serenity was overjoyed when they reached the ninth floor. "I gotta go piss out some wine. She's in room 906, to the right. You're a bleedin' saint for being here, by the way." Karine laughed to herself.

Serenity ran off as Karine sauntered to the bathroom. Outside the room stood Lila, leaning against the wall and sucking on a sucker. She was in boxers and over sized button up shirt. Duke was fast asleep on a chair down the hall. Serenity reached for the door but only had her slapped away by the British girl. She tried again only to meet the same fate. Lila gingerly sucked on her candy. "Nuh uh, cheeky monkey. Wait your turn. Bakura's in there now."

"Lila, Téa's not okay! Did you Marik hit her? Like physically _abused _her?" Serenity whispered loudly. "I gotta see her!"

Lila's mouth fell open at the gossip. "Bit your fucking tongue!" she shouted in reply, only to be shushed by Serenity and the nearby nurses. Lila rolled her eyes but complied. "He never took me as the rough type when we went at it." This knowledge made Serenity cringe. "Sorry love, it's no secret anymore from what I hear."

Serenity swallowed hard. She had tried to forget Marik was exposed as an excessive cheater a mere hour ago. She shook her head and sighed. "It's fine. I mean, I would always see bruises on Téa but I didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. If he really did that, I don't know if I could live with myself. I mean-"

"Serenity, love. It's not your fault." Lila assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can't control who Marik is behind closed door. Just thank Jesus he didn't hit you...did he?" Serenity shook her head quickly. "Well, that's good. It's still big of you to be here after what happened. You're a better person than I, I'll tell you that."

"I still wanna see if she's okay. Sure, part of me is mad at her but with her being pregnant, she could be hurting her baby." Lila nodded in agreement. At that moment Bakura exited the room, at first with what seemed like a heavy heart. But Serenity noticed the moment he looked at Lila, his eyes lit up once more. She looked up at him with a smile. Serenity backed up for a moment, seemingly going unnoticed.

"Hey you." Bakura whispered as Lila placed her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. He breathed her in as if it was the first time. "She said she'll sign and everything as long as I pay the expenses." Lila squealed and stomped her feet in place, squeezing him as tightly as she could. Hearing the fact that she'll be able to have her first true love was very pleasurable to her ears. Karine had returned from the bathroom and woke up Duke by sitting on him. First alarmed, he eventually smiled as she cradled his head against her chest.

(:::)

Marik sighed into his bottle of scotch before downing the dark liquid. He was laying in his hotel room in the dark, his brain racked with thoughts of Serenity, Téa and his potential impending fatherhood. All the actors had the day off tomorrow which means everyone was available to comment on the altercation. And the producer was surely going to talk to Marik about his out of control clients. The mere thought of it made him take another drink. He clutched a pair of Serenity's panties in his hand, releasing a long sigh. He had tried calling her several times to lie himself back into her arms but nothing had worked. Every call had went unanswered. He blamed Seto for leading her astray and regretted not punching him out. He sighed once more and took yet another drink. "All for Téa." he groaned. He referred to all the times he could have let her go in his mind but he always found himself crawling back into her arms. For some reason, she was the only woman he persistently cheated on Serenity with. But now, looking how everything has unfolded, he was considering if it was worth in the end. Serenity was his angel but with Téa he could unleash his darker side and still be accepted. And as much as they both push each other way, they wind up right back together. "All for _fucking _Téa." He heard a knock at his door. He grunted loudly, hoping that it would drive whoever was there away. They knocked once again. Marik groaned, throwing the alarm clock at the door. "Go away! I don't have to work for another six hours!"

After a few moments of silence, he heard the door click open. "Marik, I don't care if you are physically fucking that bottle right now. This is something you have to see." the voice scolded. Marik recognized it as Shira. He had wanted to ask how he got his room key but then assumed she stole it from Téa. She patted the edge of the bed down in search for the remote. Upon it's discovery, she immediately flicked it on and turned to The Vice television program. He squinted his eyes and buried his face in a pillow to avoid the brightness of the TV. "'Super agent', my ass. You're sitting here drowning yourself in misery and your client just capsized her career." This caused Marik to pop his head back up to the TV. After readjusting his eyes, he noticed Bakura with his arms draped over a woman who wasn't Téa. "If I remember correctly, that delicious piece London ass is her husband. Or used to be."

"_I do still have feelings for Téa. But her fame and my work drove us away from each other._" Marik saw Bakura confess on screen. Marik's jaw dropped. Téa had done the **exact **opposite of what he had told her to do. "_And clearly she has found someone else, as apparent by the pregnancy, and I have found someone myself._" He gave Lila an affectionate squeeze as she giggled.

"To be that girl right now. Or him, in fact. Hey Marik, do you have he-" Marik shushed Shira during her perverted musings toward the newly founded couple.

"_But my personal life does not reflect upon Kaiba Corporation and Téa's decision do not reflect her amazing ability to perform. I do hope her and the child are okay. She can't comment right now because she's still weak and needs her rest. That's all._"

The screen cut to a reporter commenting on the situation, saying how strange it was for such a reserved couple to divorce so publicly. Marik couldn't have agreed anymore. "Bakura! That fucking British _asshole_!" Marik exclaimed as he flung the bottle at the TV, knocking it over and inevitably breaking it. "Damn it!"

"Because everyone got somewhere by throwing things, Marik. How kindergarten of you." Shira spat sarcastically.

"You were always a bitch, Shira, but do you have to be King Kong bitch right now!" Marik shot back. Marik began to lunge at her and she simply stepped sideways, making him fall over himself on the floor. He had bit the inside of his lip, causing to shed a few drops of blood. "Dammit, stay still so I can hurt you.

"Come on Marik, I'm not into the whole beat and bang thing. Well, at least not with an agent. Well...not with a drunk agent. Okay _my _drunk agent. That's my final offer." He looked up at her dumbfounded. "Yuppers, kid. I know all about you and Téa's tough love. But don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone, I have nothing to gain from it. And you're not dumb, you probably have a sadomasochism agreement. Which is kind of screwed up but hell, it's Japan." Marik was surprised she had so much knowledge. He did, in fact, sign an agreement with Téa legally protecting him.

"Doesn't mean I like word getting around about it." he meekly countered. Shira scoffed.

"Even if you didn't have that piece of paper covering your ass, I can't do anything to your career that you haven't already done to it yourself. You know, I came in here to insult you but I think that might be a little to harsh, even for me." She ran a hand through her short blond hair. Marik placed his head on her foot and began caressing her legs. She shook him off like an insect. "Come on, Ishtar. Keep it in your pants for two seconds. You'll mess up my leggings. Besides, I already got a hot date. I just decided to rack up some brownie points with you, just in case you salvaged this situation. Sounds a hell of alot more interesting then staying in here and sniffing your ex-girlfriend's underwear." Shira strutted away from him and stopped at the door. "You still have to be my agent. Get it together."

"She's still mine.." he tried to convince himself as her lacy black underwear rolled out of the palm of his hand.

(:::)

Serenity crept into Téa's room just as the media freaks entered the halls, hearing small sobs coming from her bed. Téa had a partition separating herself from the rest of the world. The fresh heartbreak from Bakura still afflicted her. "Bakura, don't make this hard. I already said yes!" she cried out, throwing a vase that was on her nightstand on the wall through the part in the partition. Serenity was impressed by her display of strength despite her current condition. "You can go and marry and have a child this time without her _screwing _it up with her arguing about how it'll ruin her career and figure or having a miscarriage!" Serenity remembered when they were arguing about that but she knew it was no time to reminisce. She continued to walk towards her. She pulled apart the curtain as Téa initially glared her down with a glass in her hands. The room turned silent. The sound of her heavy breathing filled her own ears. It was almost too much for her to bare when Serenity sat on the bed and took her hand.

"Before you say anything, I am still upset with you. But I found about what Marik has been doing to you and I couldn't live with myself if I left you alone in such a state." The moonlight illuminated a bruise on Téa's neck. Her bottom lip quivered. Serenity brought her hand to the injury. She instantly winced.

"It wasn't so bad at first. But it steadily got more violent, because of work I think. He likes it. And I felt special because he didn't do it with anyone else." Téa sniffled. Serenity began to think about all the times Marik would leave the house angry and come back, refreshed. "There's nothing I can do though anyway because we signed an agreement. Stupid, right? And I'm so small for being three months pregnant. I've seen the pictures on the website. I'm afraid...I'm afraid he hurt my baby." Her eyes began to well up with tears. "I'm afraid I won't be able to have my baby. I'm not on any medicine, I lead a highly stressful lifestyle and the abuse. It's the only thing I have in this world and..." Téa's words began to slur. Serenity was sure she hadn't drunk any earlier in the evening. Soon her eyes began to flutter. "I don't feel so good, Serenity."

Serenity immediately to initiative and hit the call button on the side of the bed. She then ran to the door and shouted over the paparazzi. "Doctor! We need a doctor!"

"Get the hell out of my hallway before I pummel your paparazzo asses myself!" the big and burly Chief of Medicine bellowed, causing the wave of reporters to scatter the hall. Suddenly, the machines Téa was hooked up to suddenly began to beep loudly. Without missing a beat, a crash cart was pushed past her. Serenity watched Lila, Karine, Bakura and Duke disappear in the crowd. The nurse put a mask over Téa's face in order for her to get oxygen. Serenity watched in horror as they ran needles in and out of her arm. She saw a single tear run down her friend's eye as they worked to revive her. The machine's beeping soon silenced but the nurses and doctors still continued to treat her. "Asphyxiation during this very formative time in the pregnancy is dangerous for the child as well as the mother. She says she's been pregnant for about twelve weeks but ultrasound shows her baby is very undersized." the chief said fairly calmly and straightforward, strongly contrasting from his previous self. "If she rides this week out, she passes the danger zone for miscarrying. But her baby is still at great risk and she'll need medical attention so working on that movie of hers is out of the question. If she wants that baby of hers to make it." Serenity nodded. "We'll be sure to communicate that to her agent, manager, what have you."

As he said 'agent', Serenity felt her phone vibrate. She pulled her phone from her pocketbook; a text from Marik. Serenity growled to herself. She smiled at the Chief of Medicine and asked for him to contact her manager as soon as possible. She rushed herself into the hall and read the message.

_Iluvu. __Ineed2 see u..cum back 2 OUR rm. I MISS U!_

_-Marik._

"Such a drunk texter." Serenity mumbled to herself angrily. She didn't want to room with him at all, despite the fact all her belongings were in that room. She dialed Duke's number, hoping they hadn't gotten back to the hotel yet. She'd have to crash on the couch in the lovebird's nest.

(:::)

Shira was clad only in her periwinkle corset and her black skirted thong, moving her hips to the music playing. It was their song. "**Come out tigerlily, you're caressing me. I'll take you up, I'll turn you on, I'll take your apathy. I wouldn't lie to you, Blossom, won't you let it go. I'm gonna give you all you want and don't you know.**" She took a strong and proud position, taking one of Ryo's hats from the dresser and placing it on top of her own head. Ryo was on the bed, watching her amazed. She giggled and twirled around for him. He had always loved her voice and even more when she was singing exclusively for him. "**That you... I know you better than this. I could be here when you call, I'll make you top of the list. And in the crush of the dark, I'll be your light in the mist. I can see you burning with desire for a kiss. Psychobabble all upon your lips..**" She hopped on the bed and straddled his hips with a smirk as the music continued to play. She tore open his black shirt with a swift motion and grinned. Ryo grinned right back at her, taking hold of her thighs. She pulled him up by his tie and brought him about an inch away from her face.

The scent of her perfume was overwhelming. Old memories began to flood into his mind. "Are we really doing this again?" he questioned with a sigh. "I mean, I love the sex. Don't get me wrong. But must we always end up like this?"

"Of course, I decided I like you again tonight." Shira retorted with a sly smile. "And when I like you, that's when the sex comes in. It sounds like you're complaining."

He was quiet for a moment but soon spoke. "I'm just in luck because lately I've been missing you." he said meekly. Shira's features softened. Ryo using such a small voice was like opening a time capsule from a time which seemed eternally distant. He soon returned to his cocky disposition. "Maybe we _do_ have to stop working with each other. We can't stay off of each other for very long, can we?" Shira laughed in agreement. "But that wouldn't matter. I know you too well."

"You know I'll stay on you as long as I please." she cooed suggestively before placing her lips against his passionately. His hands quickly moved to her backside. The on-again-off-again couple were back at it once again. Ryo flipped over Shira, very familiar with the task. He began to unhook the front of her corset with a smirk.

Halfway, her black lace bra was revealed. He bit his bottom lip. She purposely chose this particular undergarment because she knows it's his favorite. "After all this time, you're still a freaking tease."

As he approached the last hook, there was a knock at the door. Ryo hopped up, thinking it was room service with the baby oil Shira requested earlier. He turned down the music before heading to the door. He had moved to fast for her to stop him. The oil had came when she was coming from Marik's room. "Dammit Ryo, come back before-" she muttered to herself until a familiar voice cut the air.

"I'm sorry, Ryo. But Shira wasn't in her room and sleeping in Mika's room would be a little awkward." Serenity said innocently, walking in the room in the same dress she had been wearing the entire night. "I love my friends but I thought Karine and Duke wanted some alone time and Lila and Bakura were 'celebrating' too loud for me to bare."

Shira groaned as she leaned her head back onto a pillow. "People trying to have sex, so shocking." she jested, hooking her corset back up. Serenity walked in and covered her eyes. "See Ryo, this is why you spring for the expensive rooms. This wouldn't have happened if she was lounging in the living room."

"_Someone_ took the last one. If you're complaining, we could have done this in your room." he smirked. Shira flashed a smile at him. Serenity turned around to leave the room. Ryo stopped her. "As much as I would _any _other time, you have no where else to go and from the looks of Shira picking her skirt off the floor, she's pulling out a rain check." Serenity cautiously went to the sofa, sitting down tentatively.

"Téa's not allowed to work onset anymore." Serenity blurted out. This caused both stars to instantly drop their jaws. "The doctor said her baby's at extreme risk. If she doesn't miscarry, she'd still need constant medical attention and so she wouldn't be able to work. Even if she does miscarry, she'd probably need to be in the hospital for a while."

"Hold up, when did Téa go into the hospital?" Shira asked, pulling up her skirt.

Serenity had forgotten Shira, Mika and Ryo had went off after the confrontations in the back room. "She went in earlier because she fainted in her hotel room. Then she crashed in the hospital. She's being pumped full of prenatal drugs."

Shira instantly picked up her keys to her motorcycle, one she brings wherever location she was told to go. "Where and what room?" she demanded. Ryo was about to say some words of protest but Shira shushed him. "Where and what room, Serenity?"

"906 at Hiroshima Medical Center." Serenity said, surprised at Shira's motherly disposition.

"Come on, Ryo. You live here, you're the only one that knows how to get there." Shira ordered, giving her room key to Serenity. "I'll be back, okay? My number is on the fridge." Ryo protest led to Shira dragging him out by his wrist. "And I don't wanna hear one damn thing about how you hate riding bitch!" Serenity stood in the room, slightly confused at the whirlwind that just happened.

She shrugged. At least she had a room to herself now. She exited the room and made sure that Ryo's door was locked. Serenity dug in her bag for her cell phone as she walked to the elevator. Three more missed calls from Marik. She didn't want to deal with him. She had noticed that Seto hadn't even made an attempt to communicate with her. She frowned, slightly disappointed. She didn't know how to be mad at him and wait for a call from him.

(:::)

Seto had packed his final bag and set it on the bed. He had been packing his bags ever since he got back to the hotel room. Mokuba sat down on the bed next to the luggage, placing an elbow on it. Seto released a heavy sigh. He looked at his phone; no missed calls. Not one text. She didn't wanna talk to him. In hindsight, he could have had someone tell Serenity about Marik. Perhaps even Lila herself. But now it was blowing up in his face and he would be going to New York; alone. He had managed to win her back and lose her just as quickly. Mokuba had never seen his brother so down. He was genuinely concerned. He set aside his typical "Hey, you need someone to talk to?" Seto shook his head. "You've been working since you came in the door, you start packing and you haven't said one word. Something brotherly like, 'Hey Mokuba! You shouldn't be laying down on your new responsibilities!' or 'Hey Mokuba! Why'd you use all the towels!'. I would have been happy with, 'Hey Mokuba! Stop masturbating in my bed to a half naked Lila on the news!'." Seto remained silent. Not even his quip about Lila stirred him.

"Look, Mokuba. I just lost her again for the second time in my life. I can only think of her running back to that _asshole _and it burns me up inside. She gave up on me. Now I have to give up on her. It's like a fucking lobotomy and your petty jokes aren't helping." Seto seethed. Mokuba froze. He was grateful for his brother, really. But he was in no mood to talk about his heartbreak. "I think I'm about to go walk around the courtyard." Seto mumbled, leaving the bedroom. Mokuba sighed heavily, the tension exiting the room. Seto slipped on his tennis shoes. He was in light blue jeans and a white tee shirt. He also put on a hat and sunglasses to hopefully deter anyone from recognizing him. Despite his influence, he'd probably be asked questions about the whole Téa situation.

"Don't drown yourself in the pool." Mokuba sighed to himself, laying back on the pillow, worried about his brother.

Seto had the room key in his pocket along with his cell phone. He exited the room, appreciating the stillness of the early morning. It was about three a.m. and most intense party goers were either still out or passed out. He stopped at the end of the hall and pressed the button to the pool/courtyard area. He had hoped the fresh air would help him clear his head before he left for Manhattan. As much as he loved Serenity, he couldn't allow his personal life to jeopardize the business lives of everyone that worked for him. And yet, he still scoffed to himself. It was already too late. He had given Serenity all he was, all he is and all he'd ever be. As scuffed and marred as his heart was, he had given it to her.

He grew impatient and upset while waiting for the elevator, deciding the stairs would be more refreshing anyway. As he turned the corner down the stairs, the elevator doors opened. Serenity poked her head out to see who was there. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back inside. Just as the doors were about to close, Serenity noticed a cell phone on the ground. She raised an eyebrow and picked it up off the ground before the doors could shut. She then heard the footsteps echo in the stairway. "Hey!" she called out. "You dropped your phone!" She could hear the door close. He was long gone. She examined the phone. It was a nice, touch screen phone. Clearly expensive. Her hand brushed across an engraving on the back. She drew in a sharp breath. She turned the phone over and saw an engraved 'SK' on the back. "Fuck me." she breathed out to herself.

(:::)

The sun had begun to rise into the sky. Marik had just begun to sober up and go to sleep as his phone rang violently. Still angry from what happened the previous night, he answered the phone aggressively. "Who wants me, for fuck's sake."

"_What a fucking surprise. Marik Ishtar talking about a fuck's sake. Maybe if you knew all the responsibilities a fucking **fuck** came with, we wouldn't be in this situation. You and your dick really screwed me over this time, dammit._" Marik stiffened at the sound of the voice on the other line. Jade Kitsurubami; head of the agency Marik worked for. He sat straight up and tried to stutter out an apology but he was immediately cut off. "_You have **no **__idea how far the studio is in my ass right now! Do you realize you fucked two of entertainment's sweetharts, **impregnated** one of them and watched them brawl in front of your damned GIRLFRIEND over YOU! Do you **fucking **realize how bad this makes me look, Ishtar!_"

Marik swallowed hard. Marik had always seen Kitsurubami explode on other agents, all the while giggling at them. He was sure now those bastards were now giggling at him from the unemployment line, where he was sure to end up. "Very bad, Miss Kit-"

"_IT WAS A RHETORICAL FUCKING QUESTION, ISHTAR!_" she exclaimed into the line. "_As a matter of fact, I'm coming to from fucking Domino to Hiroshima to give you a physical example of what the studio is doing to me right now using **my heels **as the studio and **your throat** as me!_"

Marik looked around his room, panicky. His room was trashed in every aspect. The agency would have to pay for damages. "Um, Miss Kitsurubami. What time would you be here?"

Marik began to choke on the deathly silence on the line. Jade's voice turned sweetly poisonous. "_Let's review my PDA and call history. Well, seeing as I've been getting calls about this since around 11 last night, all starting with Mika Fuka's and Téa Gardner's confirmed affairs with you, got Téa Gardner's confirmed hospital entry slash pregnancy slash divorce all around 1 this morning, congrats by the way, and seeing as you have been ignoring my calls since 2 this morning-_" Jade was interrupted by a viscous knock on the door. "_**YOU BETTER OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW, ISHTAR!**_" The line went dead as Marik could watch as his career break into little pieces.

_Falling out of love is like giving up a drug_  
_ I can't move on with my life_  
_ You have my heart as fractured as it is_  
_ Even if we have to say goodbye_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Ohhhh snap! Homegirl got two chapters out in less than three months! Woot woot! Thank you for the reviews, guys. I love them! ^_^**

**And EXTRA special thanks to Secluded Sapphire, Mirokusonlybabe and Catalyna Cullen for being loyal readers and reviewers since the beginning (and helping when I slip up on stuff ^^") I love all my reviewers but these folks having been pushing me along since chapter one!**

**Our story of passion, betrayal and love is coming to a close soon, people! Then Indulgence (I'm suuuuuuper excited for it) and perhaps a sequel to BAFI? Who knows. **

**But I DO know, Where The Hurt Is, if you don't listen to ANY other song from ANY other chapter, listen to this one. Not only because it explains how Seto feels at this point, I FRACKING LOVE THIS SONG! N:LGNSLDNFN#N **

**I love Say Anything. I saw them in concert xD Until next time, folks!  
**


	12. Resounding

**Resounding**

Marik had ordered by Kitsurubami to clean off one of the sofa chairs in the room and literally kneel before her. He had resisted greatly not to stare at her legs. She was wearing acid washed skinny jeans and a tight white tee shirt, her lacy purple undergarments visible. Her long wavy blond hair formed around her tan face which maintained a sexy scowl. Sometimes, he blamed his infidelity on the women around him, such as his attractive boss.

As he got on the ground, she dug the heel of her boot into his collarbone. The sound of his wince brought her pleasure to her ears. "Now, Ishtar. You have ravaged two stars with your dick, knocked one of them up, ruined our company's family image and out of spite of your own failing relationship, you've left _me _with a God knows how many dollar bill because you wanted to _fucking rock star _and wreck your **_motherfucking room_**!" The heel was further jammed into Marik's skin with no complaints. He knew if he wanted even the slimmest chance at getting his job back, he would have to take his punishment with no word of objection. "But l can guarantee you, Ishtar. You don't make _nearly _enough money to pay for the shit you've pulled. And trust me, your antics have a price tag worth more than you _entire miserable life_." She kicked him back on the ground, leaving him on his back as she sauntered around the room, venting. "You know what we've got in this movie now, Marik? We've got a pregnant ingenue, our southern belle has proven she's really an inner city bitch, the bad boy is nothing but a pansy and the tortured artist turns out to be our hero! What kinda storyline is that! This isn't some soul stirring indie, _it's a damned major motion picture_! Perhaps the _most _anticipated of the year! Now our all-star cast has turned to complete shit!"

Marik began to speak with great caution. "We could replace th-"

"NO!" she shouting, throwing the remote in his direction, barely missing him and disassembling itself on the ground next to him. "You did **not **use the 'R' word this late in the game, Ishtar! What _credible _actors do you know will work for less they did!"

"Shira and Ryo don't necessarily have to be replaced. They didn't cause as big as a shit cloud as Mika and Téa." he explained, beginning to pick himself off the ground. Kitsurubami had nudged him back to the floor with her foot, still interested in his plan. "I do happen to know two completely unknown actresses that could replace them." Kitsurubami rose an eyebrow at him. He took in a deep breath. "Lila Delaney and Maiya Neijuko would be perfect for the roles of Natasha and Mila." The last thing he wanted was to have Lila on set but it was dwindling down to his last option.

"Maiya Neijuko? The indie actress?" Kitsurubami said, her mouth wide in disbelief. "You truly believe in _pissing_ me off today. Did you **not **hear me say this wasn't an independent movie! This is big time, Marik! And isn't Lila that British chick that our star's ex-husband's banging! _Fuck_, Ishtar. How did you become and agent with bull answers like this!"

"They're good!" he hopefully assumed. The truth was that he hadn't seen either one of them perform. But one thing he did know was for sure; his boss was not only a power mad bitch but an aggressive lesbian and both women were hotter than the rising sun. If he only learned one thing as an agent, it was that sex sells. Sex may have gotten them all in the current position but he had hoped it will get them out.

With one final push to the ground, Jade huffed. "You better be right Marik," she growled intensely as if she was a starving lion ready to feed, "or I will end your career with a phone call. Meet me room 1211 in five minutes and I mean _five _minutes." She stormed out of the room as quickly as she came in, her terrified assistant shaking under Jade's luggage. "Come, Ruko. We've got plenty to do."

(:::)

Bakura awoke to a knock on the hotel room door. He had got a room when they returned from the interviews at the hospital. The exciting news about Téa Gardner's divorce was still flying around town Not even the deaf, dumb and blind were ignorant to the couple's demise. He had rocked the relationship critics even harder with the announcement of his engagement to an acting unknown. Groggy, he looked around the room. No sign of Lila, her sister or Duke. It was strange because usually Karine and Duke were happily gallivanting about by then. He stumbled out of bed in his silk black boxers and walked to the door as he wiped his eyes. Upon opening the door, he heard the voice of what seemed like an angel's. "Hey you. Miss me?" When he could see properly, he saw Lila wearing a pair tight denim shorts and a black tank top standing in her bare feet. His mouth was agape, enthralled in her beauty. She brought her elegant fingers to his chin and closed his jaw. "I'm glad to see you too, love." She placed a kiss on his cheek and waltzed in the room. "You've been sleeping all this time and we've been having a blast at the pool. I even got a new swimming costume and _you _can't even enjoy it. Don't be thick, come on and jump in."

Bakura smirked at his fiance. "Now you're kidding. I've got so much sucking up to Kaiba to do before he cans me and all you can think about is taking a dip in a pool. You're a bit duff, love." Kaiba had always been lenient in the past but was skeptical on how he would act. Now was a crucial time in Kaiba Corp due the opening of the New York office.

Lila pouted at her lover. "Awh, can't he understand that you're a hurting man? Newly divorced with your wife's old ring in your hand?" she idly rhymed, pulling at the bottom of her tank. She swayed her hips and dipped, gaining the power of persuasion. Bakura bit his bottom lip, entranced in the little dance she did just for him. "But he doesn't have a care in the world, cause he has a new girl who gives him a better...whirl." She took off the top and revealed her strapless swimming top; a white top with black polka dots with a pink bow in the front. From the idle drool forming a pool inside his mouth, Lila could tell he was pleased with her choice.

Bakura snapped back to reality. "So you're a poet now, I see." he joked. She gave a wide smile and jumped on him. She wrapped her legs around him tightly and mashed their foreheads together in loving manner.

"I've always had a sensitive side." she retorted with a wide smile. She looked into his eyes, finding nothing but warmth in them. Bakura's hands took hold of her legs and she happily accepted his touch.

"God, you're bloody amazing." She blushed and turned away. He took his right hand and directed her gaze back on him. "I mean _really_ amazing. I don't even want to let you go."

"Then don't." she whispered in response. She cupped his face with both hands and kissed his lips softly, enjoying its simplicity. He fell back onto the couch and let her hands explore his body. He smiled behind her kisses as his fingers ran through her hair. Just as they were really getting hot and heavy, a knock at the door interrupted their embrace. She hopped up, thinking it may have been her sister. Never before had she felt so sheepish about intimacy like a jittery teenager after her parents just got home. "Who is it?" she asked brightly.

"It's fucking opportunity, kid. Now open this door!" an angry female voice shouted. An unidentifiable voice was pleading with her to calm down but she barked at him as well. Lila couldn't quite decipher who it was but she knew that she knew the voices.

Bakura sighed heavily, slightly aggravated at the interruption. He was too familiar with the woman on the other side of the door. "What's Kitsurubami doing here? Probably to yell at me for ruining her precious meal ticket's career or something." Kitsurubami had always butted into Téa and his affairs before, he was positive this time was no different.

Lila's head snapped towards him without missing a beat. "Kitsurubami? As in Jade Kitsurubami? As in Jane Kitsurubami Talent Agency head agent?" she practically squealed. "You know her!" Lila rushed to the door without even waiting for an answer. Bakura's cries of telling her to open the door went unanswered. As the door opened, there she saw a woman she had only dreamed of meeting, angrily barking at her underling. She was caught up in the power she radiated. Jade looked over at her and the angry formation on her face had turned into a seductive smirk. She patted Marik on the head, examining the half naked Brit. Lila noticed how nude she was and blushed. "I-I'm sorry, Miss Kitsur-"

"Please, Kitsurubami is my mother's name. Call me Jade." she said sweetly, perhaps more sweet than Marik had ever heard. Marik knew she had a soft spot for foreign women but he didn't know British was her complete catalyst. "Now, since there have been some altercations on set," she explained as she darted her eyes back and forth between Bakura and Marik, "we need immediate replacements for some roles in a new major motion picture." Bakura had gotten up from the couch and wrapped his arms behind Lila protectively. He had zero trust for Jade. She was a beast when it came to business. A beast he watched change Téa right before his very eyes. She kicked Marik in the shins, making him hand her a script. "You'll be reading for Natasha. Oh, and another thing. Do you have any other pretty actress friends, such as yourself?"

Lila giggled childishly, looking at her feet in deep thought. Suddenly, her head popped up. "Well I've heard that Serenity was an amazing actress! Heard her and Seto Kaiba 'imself would perform with one another." Lila suggested. Marik's eyes grew wide. He was trying to avoid the unveiling of Serenity's talents.

Jade turned slowly toward Marik. "...Serenity's an actress?" she growled. "An _amazing _actress?"

Bakura smirked, seeing his chance to get revenge on Marik. "She's bloody wonderful. She used to do monologues for Seto's showcase he did in the city every fall. Elegant, always elegant. And she's a helluva looker." Lila nodded in agreement. Marik cringed even more. He had tried so hard to keep Serenity away from all of the entertainment business, the exclusion being when he rushed her out of Domino to avoid Mai's forthcoming wrath. "I can contact her if you want."

"Bring her with you to the reading. That way I won't have to break my spine trying to get this chick all the way in Korea!" she said almost gleefully. "Meet me at the studio down the street at four, _sharp_. Then we'll see what we can do. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Lila. Good day." She turned her back and hit Marik hard upside his head.

A sparkle had been lit in her eyes. She held the script as if it was pure gold. Bakura had turned her towards him and smiled. "So, pool?" he asked with a grin on his face. Lila was silent. "Lila, love. Are we going for a dip or what?" She immediately shook her head no and raced to pick up her clothing from the floor.

"I've got five hours, dear! I need to sound like I'm bloody Keira Knightly in five hours!" she shouted excitedly. "I've gotta read, baby! I need to be ahead of the crowd!" Lila ran into their bedroom with the speed to rival lightning. Bakura heard the lock click behind her. He looked at the room and sighed.

"These damn actresses." Bakura mumbled with a halfhearted grin.

(:::)

"Shira, you didn't have to stay this long. Call time is at four and it's already noon. You've been here eight hours." Téa breathed out, holding on to Shira's hand. Ryo was knocked out asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. Shira nor Ryo had the chance to change clothes, both still donning the clothing they wore out the previous night. "You need to sleep!" Shira shook her blond locks at her bed-ridden costar.

"We can't even shoot, we have to find someone to replace you and Mika." Shira assured. The knowledge of Mika being off of the set as well brought a smile to her face as Shira knew it would. "They'd have to find them in a week or we'd have to scrap the entire movie." Shira took in a deep breath and then sighed. "I'm kinda tired of portraying high school characters anyway, y'know. Ryo and I promised this would be our last one. I mean I'm 27, dammit, I want to play at least a single MILF or something." Téa laughed at Shira's rant. Shira's phone beeped, indicating a text message. She looked at the angry text, grimacing every other word. Téa scoffed with a grin.

"Looks like it's from Jade." Téa laughed, following a small coughing fit. "What does she want, an impromptu meeting right here in my hospital room so she can yell at me when I'm near immediate medical attention?" Shira, first hesitant, nodded slowly. Téa popped up. "What!"

Ryo awoke from his slumber upon hearing the news. "Why is your sister such a fucking viper? Dammit, we're never gonna hear the end of this." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I can see her now, yelling down the halls-"

"Where the hell is Téa Gardner!" a voice boomed from outside of the room.

"That's about right." Ryo said, hurriedly jumping off the sofa and diving into the restroom. "Knock when it's over." At that very moment, Jade burst into the room with a worn Marik, a bruised director and a stressed assistant.

"Téa...so it's true. I had to see for myself." the director Thomas Bissette had murmured upon looking at a sickly Téa. She looked away. His tall body towered over her in her hospital bed. His bright blue eyes pierced through his dark locks as he looked at her and covered his mouth aghast. He had always loved working with Téa and was saddened to see her in such a state. "_Mon cherie_, what are we to do?" Looking at her director had made her realize how deep in trouble she was. She looked over at Marik who was looking at the door. "You can' t work from a hospital bed and I hate to replace you but that's becoming my only option. Or not make-"

"Don't even think about it, you fucking frog. I didn't fly your European ass out here for vacation." Jade seethed. She walked to Téa, hovering over her and taking hold of the bars on the side of her bed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Thomas and Jade. I messed up." Téa said turning away from them.

"The doctors said not to stress you out but I don't think it's fair you've given me all this bullshit." she said lowly, with her knuckles turning white. Téa tried to cower under her covers but couldn't avoid her gaze. "But I understand. Marik's a pretty fuck. So here's the deal." She stood up straight and stared down Marik. "Ishtar, you are to monitor Téa closely, being as she is now your _only _client. Your others will be distributed to the masses, including my baby sister. I don't want your dick anywhere near her." Marik took a hard gulp. He should be happy he maintained his job but joy was not the emotion flowing through his heart. "As she's bedridden, you work your _ass _off to spin this situation is her favor or so help me, I'm disemboweling you my _goddamn _self." Broken, Marik nodded. "Shira, we've got auditions for her and Mika's replacements and I want you and Ryo there. And I may not give two shits about your passive-aggressive love affair, but for the rest of this film there will be _zero _tolerance for on set fraternizing and if I find it's going on I'm bringing a storm of shit upon everyone's life." Shira nodded. Ruko, her tiny brunette assistant, was steadily writing all of this information on Kitsurubami's PDA. Jade turned around and noticed this. She smirked. "Smart assistant. Now haul ass, we've got a studio head dick to suck." Everyone she entered with began to exit the room but she stopped Marik. "That working your ass off thing, starts _right now_."

Marik froze. "But you need to get in contact with Serenity Wheeler and she's my-"

"**EX**-girlfriend." she emphasized. Those words hurt Marik like nothing else. It hadn't fully registered until that moment that she was gone and she was stuck with a pregnant actress with a broken heart and body, both of which he caused. "You aren't exactly the best bargaining chip at the moment. Stay, boy. Heel." She then turned around and shut the door. Everyone in the room could hear her heels click down the hallway. Shira crossed her arms and glared at him as Ryo stumbled out of the restroom, making a snide remark that fell on deaf ears.

Marik fell back on the sofa and looked at a broken Téa tremble as she ate her applesauce, making a mess of herself and fighting back tears. As much as he hate to admit it, it hurt to see her struggle so much. Marik sighed as he took off his jacket and hesitantly walked to her. Shira took a defensive stance next to the bed, ready to strike if he hurt her. He noticed this, giving her a reassuring nod. She backed down partially, giving him a nod back. He took the spoon from her hands swiftly. She looked up at him with watery eyes. He looked down at her, coldness still in his stare but with some semblance of care behind them. He got in a folding chair by her bed and began to feed her the applesauce as she wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry, Marik. It's all my fault." she wept, her face in her hands. She released several sniffles before Marik pulled her hands away and fed her another spoonful of applesauce. She looked into his eyes, the spoon still her mouth with a hopeful stare. He, surprisingly, returned it.

(:::)

Serenity stood in front of the door, twirling her thumbs and gnawing at her bottom lip. The phone was in her pocket, buzzing away as it had done all day. She could even hear it vibrate when she was in the shower, as if it was going off specifically to bug her. She had been skeptical about hand delivering it back to him. She checked her watch. Thirty minutes before she had to go down to the studio and audition for the first time in three years. And yet she had wasted ten minutes standing outside of her ex's hotel room with his cell phone. She could have dropped it, knocked and then ran. Or she could have had Lila take it back. But instead, she was there wasting time. She rose her fist and had it hover above the door. Just as she was about to pull away for good, the door flung open to reveal the younger Kaiba. After nearly jumping out of her skirt, her heart resumed beating as normal. "When does he leave?" she asked lowly. Mokuba was taken aback by her sudden abruptness.

"Four fifty five." Mokuba answered as quietly as she had questioned. "He's been sleeping all day because he-"

"-hates sleeping on airplanes." Serenity finished, remembering how Seto would tell her how he like to be productive during airline travel. Mokuba was just as surprised to see her. Seto had been moping around all day about the very girl standing in front of him. After a long moment of silence, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and handed it to him in silence. Mokuba opened his mouth to call for his brother but he saw Serenity feverishly shake her head. He hadn't seen her so nervous since high school. "I can't stay long, I have an audition for the first time in years. Funny, huh?"

"Not really, you know I've always thought you were a terrific actress." Mokuba complimented. Serenity muttered a thank you. "Look, Serenity. He really misses you and maybe if you two just talk, it'll-"

"Tell him I'm sorry." she whispered, fighting back a stray tear. Mokuba gulped hard. "It was my fault again. I got mad and so I wasn't thinking and...I...Tell him...tell him...tell him to listen to the...maybe..." Serenity simply stopped speaking, nodding at Mokuba before she raced down the hallway, hoping Lila hadn't left her yet. Mokuba was about to chase after her but she had already disappeared into an elevator.

Mokuba held his brother's phone in his hands. He sighed as he opened the phone up, examining all the missed calls, voicemails and text messages from various people. Then he found something quite odd. Among those people, Serenity was listed. She had simply a voicemail. His curiosity at it's peak, he opened up the voice message. Upon listening to it, his eyes widened. "Seto! Wake up, you _have _to hear this!"

(:::)

The hospital room had been quiet since Ryo and Shira left. Even as Marik fed her, they hadn't talked much. The doctors would come in from time to time and tell Marik to step out. Marik would also leave to make phone calls to benefit Téa, knowing he couldn't have any of his other clients back until he dealt with her. "I'm afraid, Marik." Téa confessed, breaking the silence. "They keep pumping me full of drugs I can't even pronounce and the only thing I can understand is that I may _die_ because of this baby. They said it may come down to a decision between me or it." Marik had been sitting in the chair next to her but every time he tried to touch her, she shivered. This didn't go unnoticed. "And I'm afraid of you, Marik. What if I don't make it, huh? What if the baby is still here? Can I trust you not to throw it around like you did me, huh? Can I leave this world knowing that you'd be fucking disgusting women next to the nursery? Or would you just abandon it and run back to Serenity, like you always do?"

Listening to her cry for a moment, he took in a deep breath. "Serenity's gone." he finally admitted to himself. It was the first time he had said it aloud since everything had gone down the previous night. "I can't combat that, I can't prevent it. She's gone. But you're here. With my child under your heart. My child that I have already hurt and it's not even been born yet. And I can't let you or it go down without a fight." He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "I'm going to be the best damn father to that boy if it kills me."

Téa stared at him, taking in what he just said. He put a hand over her stomach and rubbed it softly. She then put her hand over his. "Or girl." she corrected. He gave a small questioning 'hm'. "We find out in a month so we don't know now if it's to be a boy or girl." It felt strange touching Té so sweetly. He felt as if he could feel the baby's heartbeat in the palm of his hand. Each pulse representing his future with Téa. He interlocked his fingers with Téa's. He had to make it a better upbringing then he had. He will be a hero to that child.

(:::)

"'But Natasha, you don't understand! I love him, despite all of it. So what sometimes he doesn't call back and he's a terrible cook? So what if he forgets about that one pair of socks laying by the dryer after the laundry day? I don't even care about the crazy ex-girlfriend with the death threats. Natasha, for the first time in my _entire life_, I don't care about the minor shortcomings. Because in the end, he's still a beautiful musician with a heart of gold that loves me for me. And it wasn't fair to do the opposite for him.'" Serenity said while portraying Mila. The studio heads were watching intently, most giving positive looks. Included in the group watching them was Thomas the director, Jade, her assistant, Ryo and Shira. Ryo and Shira finally got the opportunity to change. Shira was wearing a white sundress and donned black aviator glasses. Ryo was clad in blue jeans and a plain white tee shirts. This helped bring a casual feel to the environment since the studio heads were in black suits and Jade and her assistant were in black dresses.

"'Well damn. Don't just stay then telling me, tell him! Tell him before he runs back to the morbidly insane one because you were bitching about some socks!'" Lila shouted with a grin. The studio heads let out a laugh, clapping the signify the scene was over. They huddled together and began to talk amongst themselves about their performance. Lila pranced over to Serenity excitedly, stamping her feet into the ground. "We did it, you beautiful girl! They loved us, I could tell! Ooo, I feel so good right now. Bakura said I was gonna be amazing and I was! I could scream..." she loudly whispered. She seemed to dance around the empty set.

Serenity was also fairly confidant about their performance. Even if they didn't particularly like them, they were running out of options. She was truly happy about getting the chance to act again but it merely made her dwell on Seto. She remembered when he was her Romeo onstage and then in real life. Everything felt so right back then, as if did when she was in his arms. She sighed as the people at the table before them turned back towards them. The director spoke of all of them. "We love both of you. Honestly, we couldn't want anything more. Now we just need to speak to your representation," Jade cleared her throat as to not go unnoticed, "and everything will be finalized. You can start working on set tomorrow. Work on the first couple of pages. Good work, girls. And for future reference, we don't typically have things so messy, you'll have to forgive us for next time." The studio heads left the room and began to travel to an Italian restaurant next door where they would be enjoying a celebration dinner.

Kitsurubami was also excited. She ran up to Lila and hugged her tightly. "God bless you, you British bitch! You saved my ass!" she exclaimed kissing her on the cheek hard. She then moved on to Serenity, lifting her off the ground while she was full of adrenaline. Soon, Karine head had poked through the door. The two sisters looked at each other with a grin. Lila shook her head yes so hard it seemed as if her head were going to fall off. They rushed towards each other and hugged each other tightly. "They want you back! Hell yes, we've got work to do. Ruko, write this down. Now for the time being, I'll act as your agent. I'll set up meetings after filming to get you guys upright. And if this movie does well, I promise you both will get your own teams." Kitsurubami assured. "And this movie _will _do well." Lila and Karine seemed to jump even higher. Soon Duke and Bakura came out of the green room, hugging their respective girlfriends.

Serenity smiled, quite proud of herself. She was sure he would be proud of her too. She had some form of regret. She looked at her watch once again; 4:35. Ten minutes until he flies off to New York once and for all. Another sigh escaped her lips as the others celebrated. "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" she said to herself with a scoff. Her Romeo had flown to greener pastures.

"_I can't let you go without letting you know how I feel. But I couldn't say it face to face, you know how much of a punk I am when it comes to this kinda thing._" Serenity heard herself say over the loudspeaker. "_I wasn't upset about you not telling me about Marik. Well, I was. But not as much as I was upset with myself. I was scared, Seto. I was afraid to uproot myself and leave with you. I was afraid that these feelings I have for you were just temporary madness combined with joyous nostalgia_." Her heart jumped up and down when she realized what the recording was; the voicemail she had left on Seto's phone! "_Basically what I'm saying is Seto Kaiba, I'm in love with you. I've always been in love with you. I need you. But you're probably halfway to the Big Apple by now, huh?_" The recording ended there. Everyone turned to look at her. Even Jade's features had softened. They all had a group coo towards her.

"I'm not gone yet, Serenity!" a voice called from the opening backlot doors. "You couldn't get rid of me that easy if you tried!" Serenity immediately recognized the voice and nearly cried tears of joy. Behind the oncoming figure of Seto, Mai and Joey followed suit arm and arm. They ran to each other, stopping directly in front of each other. Seto was in a white suit with a black shirt under it. His formal clothing wasn't new to Serenity but for some reason it meant more than the typical wardrobe choice at that moment. "Serenity, I've never a day in my life stopped loving you. Never." he breathed out, still trying to catch his breath from running to her. "And I'm sorry about anything and everything I may have screwed up before but I need you more than anything now, I can't picture my life withou-" He was silenced by the girl on his lips. She pulled him into her with all of her might, afraid to let go for more than a moment. Everyone was staring with a look of shock on their faces. He broke the kiss and collapsed down on one knee. He pulled out sterling silver ring with one beautifully brilliant diamond shining in her face. "We've survived your parents, your brother, your friends. We've taken on media vultures and ended up victorious. We've conquered Shakespeare together and hospitals too. Now I can't have all this in consideration and not want to climb one last mountain with you." Serenity looked around at the people surrounding her; the group behind her was staring with anticipation, Mokuba was in the sound booth with a look of satisfaction on his face and Mai stood next to Joey as he held a framed photograph of their mother. Without words, she extended his hand towards him with her fingers spread apart wide. He slipped the ring onto her finger and then immediately took her by the waist and lifted her into the air. Mai and Joey began to clap in the background, causing Ryo, Shira, Duke, Karine, Bakura, Lila, Jade and even her assistant to clap for the classic couple. He put her back on her feet and indulged in another kiss.

While everyone else saw romance, she saw a paycheck. "Genius! Pure genius! I got it!" Jade said allowed, having an epiphany of sorts. "Ruko, write this down; we document the wedding in the planning stages, go in depth to their tumultuous journey which resulted in a wave of love, put it in theaters at Valentines day, make a franchise, BAM! What do you-" Jade was silenced by her sister kicking her in the shin.

Bakura and Lila had also began to embrace each other, kissing each other passionately. Karine and Duke also followed suit. Shira and Ryo started to but then was reminded by Jade striking them that there was to be no more intimacy on set so they instead settled for holding each others hands. "Hey Jade, we'll do the movie." Seto called out, feeling generous to the woman who had help Serenity fulfill her dream. "Start to finish, the planning of the wedding to the ceremony itself.

"Just as long as the filming is in New York!" Serenity stated with a smile, placing another kiss on Seto's lips.

"Baby, I promise you Madison Square Gardens!" he swore, spinning her around once again. He felt as if he could fly.

"And it'll have to start _after _my brother's wedding which will take place after the movie's a wrap!: Ruko was still steady jotting everything down, making sure nothing went without being written. Jade nodded as she began to dial her phone to pitch the idea. "I'm stuck here for a little to finish the movie and then Manhattan is ours." she reassured.

Seto nodded in understanding, giving her one more kiss. "I've got to be in New York this time so I have to go. But I swear I'll be back to see Mai and Joey get married and bring you back to our place." The thought of having a place to call theirs excited her. It was literally years of emotion rushing to her all at once. Serenity squealed before she gave him the last kiss before he ran off through the backlot doors to his limo waiting outside to speed him to the airport. Mokuba disappeared along with him. Joey was the first to take her into his arms. After that everyone huddled around her and shouted words of congratulations. Then suddenly, she heard footsteps in their direction. The person pushed through the crowd and grabbed Serenity tightly. "Fuck that flight, I own the damn company." They kissed once again, surrounded by people cheering them on.

With his ring around her finger, she felt right. She felt like she was where she was supposed to be; waiting to walk down the aisle with him. His woe was taken away by his queen of hearts, his high school lows resolved by his pleas; they were both alive with the glory of love and survived their fleeting illness and turned it into something realer than ever thought by imagination.

_And every single day I'm falling down._  
_I never want to say you're mine right now. _  
_If only I could finally face the truth I have always loved you._

_

* * *

_**A/N: So that's it! Well, I have an epilogue to write THEN that's it. Hate the ending? TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU DO! This is my first time finishing a story on fanfiction and I need advice! Plus, it needed to end. It's almost been a year. **

**And another question you may be asking; "Neko Catalyst, why all these new characters at the END of the story!" And I have an answer; they will be in the SEQUEL! Yes, there will be a sequel. Decided as of five seconds before writing this. This may be in production during _Indulgence_ (which premieres VERY soon)**

**Oh and that last paragraph is a play on a bunch of Say Anything songs (including the title hehe). Ugh, I feel like you guys are gonna HATE this ending...I'm getting ready to edit D:  
**


	13. Epilogue: Dreaming of Manhattan

**Epilogue  
Dreaming of Manhattan**

Serenity paced back and forth, scared out of her mind. She had nearly ran a ditch into the ground with her pearl white heels. She was accompanied by Ricki her personal camerawoman, Téa and her child Daisuke. "Serenity, don't get scared now. You have the strongest relationship of anyone I know, you guys had a two year engagement, watched others get married and took notes for Christ's sake. I mean I didn't think Seto set his phone down during _my_ reception. You're just feeling some cold feet, it's normal." Téa assured as Daisuke pulled on the light blue band on her white bridesmaids dress. "Daisuke, stop!" she ordered, slapping his hand away. She had already yelled at him for pulling the ruffles at the bottom. He pouted his lips and crossed his arms at his mother like he always did when he didn't get his way. He was in a black tuxedo Marik had bought for him for the event. He was wearing a light blue tie like his father was wearing that same day. Téa playfully pouted back at him while simultaneously going into her purse and pulling out a goldfish cheese cracker. His eyes widened in excitement and he opened his mouth. Téa laughed as she placed it on his tongue, watching him crunch it happily and peacefully. Téa made it through the pregnancy and gave birth on time, thought it was thought for a very long time Daisuke was going to be premature. Three months later, Marik and Téa had a quiet ceremony and got married. Serenity was the maid of honor and Seto was a groomsmen. Marik had most of his clients back, thanks to him setting up various interviews with television shows and magazines for Téa when she was allowed to move outside of the hospital. Also they sold the rights to the first baby pictures to People for an undisclosed amount. Daisuke had also been in various commercials and television spots already and he was barely two. Téa had been getting better roles than before, thanks to Marik working harder than before. He was no longer working hard under the threat of losing his job, he was working hard for his family. Serenity cracked a smile and picked up Daisuke by his shoulders, looking into his violet eyes and he squirmed happily. "Who would have that in two years, all of this would happen?" Téa said aloud as Serenity carefully examining the child's features. His lightly tanned skin and his piercing purple eyes accompanied by a mop of blond hair. He was cute as a button, she had to admit. But it was strange to see her ex-boyfriend and formerly ex-friend's child at her wedding of all places.

Soon Lila and Karine entered the tent, sporting their bridesmaids dresses. Lila rushed to Daisuke, taking him out of Serenity's hands. "Oh, it's my lil' Daiki! Hello, Daiki!" Lila lifted him into the air as he giggled. Lila was strangely attached to the child, always holding him closely and opting to watch him on occasions she wasn't busy, which was rare. Since the release 'The Greatest Compromise', she had been very busy working. Bakura and her had came up with a deal due to his uncomfortable attitude towards Jade Kitsurubami; he was her manager. He followed her everywhere she went, which was never too far so he could continue to work for Kaiba Corp. She had been in three more blockbusters since that film and couldn't be happier to work beside her husband. The two had gotten married three months after Mai and Joey did. She had a double wedding with her sister and Duke. Her parents had actually attended, though she was still convinced they had only come for Karine which they had dubbed the good child. Despite Duke's comfortable lifestyle, Karine continued to work in bars across Domino because she loved talking to customers and serving drinks.

"You look _purely _brilliant, Serenity!" Karine had cooed. Her dress was a strapless long dress with a tight fit until it hit her waist, then ruffling out into neat and elegant layers until it reached the ground. Her hair was in a messy bun which descended into wavy hair that sat on her shoulders. Her bangs complimented the rest of her hair, swooping across her forehead and was then placed behind her ear. She was wearing long white satin gloves which belonged to her mother and a choker with an aquamarine hanging from it, which belonged to her as well. Her veil sat on top of her head and fell down on each side. Serenity muttered a thank you.

Mai had entered as well, wearing her light blue maid of honor dress with a white band across her stomach. She was holding her child Emi's hand who was wearing a white poofy dress. Joey and Mai had conceived Emi the night they got married in January and Mai had given birth to her in August, three days before the one year anniversary of Serenity and Seto's engagement. Mai and Joey had still lived in Domino and were in New York for the wedding. Mai had flown out before Joey, excited that she was named the maid of honor. Mai had picked up photography as a hobby and found out she was really good at it, now getting paid to take pictures for JKTA with a direct request from Jade Kitsurubami to her surprise. Joey had made a living at being a stay at home dad. He loved playing with his daughter. She had bright long blond hair and chocolate eyes like her father and she had loved her Aunt Serenity. "Auntie 'Renity! Auntie 'Renity! Mama tol' me you was gettin' married! You look so pwetty!" Emi had ran to her and Serenity scooped her from the ground.

"Well who knows, Serenity's catching a case of cold feet." Téa teased. All the married women in tent began squawking at her with unintelligible words. Serenity could only laugh as Emi covered her ears and began to hum loudly.

"I'm not scared because I'm getting married guys, I love Seto with all my heart." she explained as she smiled down at Emi. "I was just afraid I forgot my picture of my mom. I wouldn't want her to miss this for the world." The room chorused with 'aww's', even Ricki did.

Karine piped up and grinned. "I'll go make sure it's out there, kay love?" Karine announced as she exited the tent. The next person to enter the tent was Marik which caused everyone to groan, except Daisuke who was glad to see his father. He was wearing a gray suit and purple undershirt. He was not asked to be a groomsman because Serenity was afraid Seto would have punched him in the middle of the ceremony. Seto barely allowed Téa to be one buy Marik would have been too much for him to handle.

"Whatever, it's nothing I haven't seen before." Marik countered crudely, picking up Daisuke off of the ground. Serenity had looked around and noticed he was right. She blushed slightly while turning away from him. Marik then went to Dad mode. "You change him already?" Téa nodded with a smile. "Did he eat his macaroni and cheese?" Téa nodded again. "Great." Marik bent down and gave Téa a quick peck on the cheek. "Now it's inhumane to have this little boy surrounded by all you hens." All the women blew raspberries at him as he left.

"I've been told to interview before the ceremony so if all of you guys could give us a moment?" Ricki requested. The women exited with mutters of agreement. Serenity sat in a chair in front of Ricki, taking a big gulp. "So do you have your traditional bride things? You know the-"

"-something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?" Serenity finished. She nodded into the camera with a wide smile. "The gloves were my mom's so these are old. The pearl earrings came in from Tiffany's yesterday. This veil is the one Mai used when she married my brother. This choker was my mom's too, it's her birthstone which is aquamarine, that's my blue. I'm the full package!" she joked, coupling it with a laugh.

"So earlier you were freaked out before about your mother's photograph not being out there by the alter. Your mother must have meant alot to you." Ricki stated.

"Very much, I love her and I miss her everyday." Serenity smiled, caressing the stone on her neck. "Seto actually paid the hospital and nursing home fees after she passed. My mom loved him. She said she had a very good feeling about us. She said the same thing about Mai and Joey and look where they are now." At the same moment, Emi had rushed in and jumped on Serenity's lap. "Speaking of which, this is their daughter Emi. And she's my favorite little niece!" Serenity had placed a kiss on her forehead as Emi giggled.

"One last question; do you see you and Seto having children?" Ricki asked. Serenity immediately turned beet red.

"I actually think about children everyday." Serenity sighed. "So my answer to that question is yes, but not right at this _very _moment because now I'm a working actress. I actually have a movie to film right after our honeymoon. And Seto has the New York branch of Kaiba Corp to manage and we may be possibly moving either back to Domino or to California. But I love Manhattan too much to leave, honestly." The two laughed once again as Joey entered the tent with Ruko. Joey was wearing a white suit and light blue shirt and Ruko was clad in a tight fitting beige halter dress.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Soon-to-be-Kaiba. I hate to bug you on your wedding day but Ms. Kitsurubami sent me in here to say, and I quote," Serenity immediately closed Emi's ears knowing the vulgarity awaiting in the message, "'If this bitch doesn't hurry up and get out here, I'll be able to marry my Spanish masseuse Alejandra before you tie the knot with the ass for brains'. I'm sorry to use such language in front of your child but if I would have censored it, she would have known."

"It's understandable, that one makes my ass clench." Ruko nodded in agreement. Serenity let go of Emi's ears and laughed. Ruko to her exit to tell her boss that they would be starting shortly. "Go with Mommy, Mimi." Joey instructed, causing the little girl to hop up and hobble to her mother. Joey looked at his sister with amazement. "Ren, you look amazing! Are you ready?" Serenity stood up and nodded.

"Never been more ready in my entire life."

(:::)

The music had begun to play as Joey began to walk her down the aisle slowly. The veil was over her face but she could see everyone looking at her with looks of approval. Her eyes darted between each side of her before she looked straight ahead to see Seto Kaiba wearing a black suit with blue tie. His hair had gotten long, touch his shoulders. She liked his with the longer hair even though he had thought it unprofessional. The lake glistened behind him as he smiled once he looked at her. She looked at Mai, holding Mrs. Wheeler's picture in her hand. Then she looked back at her husband to be. He was anxious, she could tell as she got closer. He was full of excitement like she was. Sooner than she expected, she had made it to the alter and found herself standing next to him. Joey kissed his baby sister on the cheek before taking his place behind Mokuba, who was the best man. The reverend then began to speak as the music stopped. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sign of God and in the face of this company to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore, is not by any, to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly." The two looked at each other and then back at the reverend with a nod. "Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The silence allowed the ceremony to proceed. "Through marriage, Seto and Serenity make a commitment together to face their disappointments, embrace their dreams, realize their hopes and accept each others failures. Seto and Serenity will promise one another to aspire to these ideals throughout their lives together through mutual understanding, openness and sensitivity to each other." They nodded yet again. "Who gives this woman in marriage to this man?"

Joey cleared his throat and proudly said, "I do." Emi clapped for her father who then gave her a thumb up. "I do an' her family and friends gathered here today do."

"By gathering together all the wishes of happiness and our fondest hopes for Seto and Serenity's from all present here, we assure them that our hearts are in tune with theirs. These moments are so meaningful to all of us, for what greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together, to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness. Do you Seto take Serenity to be your wife in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

Seto turned to her and smiled. She was there, his beautiful bride dressed in white. There couldn't be any other answer except, "I will."

"And Serenity do you take Seto to be your husband in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

Serenity smiled at him as well and nearly jumped up when she said, "I will."

"And now for the rings." the reverend proclaimed. Daisuke ran up to the couple, carefully balancing the rings on the blue satin pillow. The reverend took the rings in his hands and dismissed Daisuke who ran back to his father. Seto was given a silver band by the reverend. "Seto, in placing this ring on Serenity's finger, repeat after me: Serenity, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed."

He spoke the words proudly as he slipped the ring on her finger. "Serenity, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed." Serenity looked at the marvel on her finger and nearly cried. Next the reverend gave her the other band.

"Serenity, in placing this ring on Seto's finger, repeat after me: Seto, you are now consecrate to me as my husband from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed."

Serenity placed the ring on Seto's extended hand. "Seto, you are now consecrate to me as my husband from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed." she recited, feeling them as if she were going to pass out from the joy.

"May you always share with each other the gifts of love, be one in heart and in mind, may you always create a home together that puts in your hearts, love, generosity and kindness. In as much as Seto and Serenity have consented together in marriage before this company of friends and family and have declared their unity by giving and receiving a ring, are now joined. You have pronounced yourselves husband and wife but remember to always be each other's best friend. And now it is my happy privilege to congratulate and introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Seto Kaiba. You may now kiss the bride."The reverend stepped away and allowed them to do what they will.

Seto took his time in lifting up the veil, enjoying every second of it. Their lips met sweetly as the breeze aided the finesse of the intimacy. Cameras flashed all over as claps filled the air. They soon broke the kiss and grabbed each others hands, turning around and facing the crowd. "We did it, Serenity." Seto smiled as he waved at everyone.

They began to run back down the aisle as people followed them. "Reception in the penthouse, right now!" she called out as they continued to dash towards the horse and carriage awaiting them. Once they got there, Seto helped his bride up. She stood proudly, waving the bouquet in her hand. The single women screamed loudly, clamoring for it before she turned around. Even Jade was in the fray. She winked at everyone and turned around, tossing it into the sky. She could hear them nearly tearing each others faces off.

In the back of all the madness, Ruko was talking to Mokuba idly. Suddenly, the bouquet had landed in her arms. She adjusted her glasses and looked at the white roses which laid in her arms. She then was grabbed by Mokuba and held tightly, shielding her from the onslaught of women that knocked them to the ground. Her glasses had flung across the grass and he smiled down at her. "You have very pretty green eyes." he confessed. She turned red as she let out a small laugh.

Seto climbed into the carriage and sat next his wife as the man rode away. The streets of Manhattan were full of people cheering on the couple. Seto had garnered a huge fanbase with his last two years in New York as well as Serenity. She had done an American film after complete 'The Greatest Compromise' in Domino. Filming 'Mad House' wasn't so bad since she got to go home to her penthouse with Seto everyday. She was happy because by the end of the day, the cameras would be gone and she would have Seto all to herself once again. She was sure he felt the same way. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. They didn't even say any words. They felt as if they had transcended past words. They simply kissed each other as they rode away, leaving the past behind and ready to make the future amazing.

_No more, no less, in pools of water after all the rain has left I see your gaze._  
_No more, no less, I'm longing for a Neverland where I can make you oh so happy..._

_I'm dreaming of Manhattan. _  
_Dreaming of where we are, so in love _  
_I can make you oh so happy_

_

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_**A/N: That's it, folks. Epilogue and all. I can finally press the complete option! Woot! This chapter really wrote itself. I got the vows and stuff from .. Yup yup! Well, nothing to do now but write Indulgence! See you next fic, kiddies! **


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